The Good, the Bad, and the Hidden
by TeamEthanMorgan
Summary: Benny Weir is a hero named Wizard who is practically unbeatable. Practically. But there is one villain who has the upper hand. Vision. With scary powers, and a scary disguise, he is a danger to Benny. Even more dangerously, unbeknownst to Benny, Vision is Ethan, his boyfriend and closest friend.
1. Chapter 1

**Buon giorno! Anyeong haseyo! Salam! Am I obnoxious yet? Good! You're getting to know me!**

 **On to the point, thank you guys soooo much for your awesome feedback from both sites. I didn't expect to have people reading, but here you guys are! I hope you'll enjoy this fanfic. I'm proud of its plot, and how much I've developed it.**

 **Here we go!**

* * *

There was that beep again. Benny looked at his watch and groaned. It was flashing a red, subtle light that people might mistake for an alarm. And it sort of was. It was alarming him that there were superhuman crimes being committed at the moment.

Great. As if he needed his boss to hate him more. He had already gotten out of work multiple times without explanation, and that got him looks, but he always said that "it was an emergency". Which was … sort of understandable.

Being a criminal researcher did have its perks.

He pressed a button on his watch, making the light turn off, then he walked away from his computer, and looked into the app Ethan had designed for him. And, probably, this was the best app Benny had. Ethan certainly had talents in programming. The app showed him a bit of information about what was going on. It took security camera footage and social media posts to determine the whereabouts of the criminal. There were some extra stuff Ethan did that Benny did not understand, but it did a pretty good job at telling which attacks were made by superhumans, and which were not.

And, of course, the place of the crime was the bank. Seriously, why did criminals think they could get away with robbing banks? It was a heavily guarded place.

He went into a private room outside of the building where there were no cameras. He took out his disguise from his bag, and, in the blink of an eye, they were on him, and his work clothes were neatly folded in his hands. Benny's powers were not typical. He guessed people could call it telekinesis, but it wasn't that. It was more of a combination of telekinesis and teleportation. He could physically move objects, humans, and himself, and he could make himself and anything else disappear and reappear elsewhere. Although he does get tired from prolonged use.

He looked at his clothes, making sure they were fine. Black pants, black shirt, and dark blue hooded leather jacket? Check. Combat boots? Check. Mouth and nose mask? Check. He would bring a weapon with him, but he was a citizen who worked for the law. He would seem fishy if his co-workers accidentally saw him owning weapons. Well, the co-workers who didn't know about his secret identity. He had ones who knew because of his slip-ups, but he supposed that was a good thing. At least a few people understood why he left work sometimes.

Benny closed his eyes, and when he opened them once again, he was near the bank. People were hurrying away from the building in terror. There were a few people who could strike terror in public so easily. Really scary, buff superhumans with guns who were too obvious to ignore, or … Vision.

And, oh was he right. It was Vision yet again, his arch nemesis. Frankly, Benny, or rather, Wizard, as people called him, was scared of this guy. He was the only person who has defeated Benny. But the reason why was the worst. Benny's powers worked every time – except when he was around Vision. Vision had the ability to manipulate a lot of things, including, as he and his fellow analysts came to conclude, powers that required mental effort such as Wizard's. So, by default, Wizard's powers were useless around Vision. The villain could simply disable Benny's powers with ease. Even scarier, the guy seemed to know of the outcomes in battle, hence the name Vision, which meant he could block, or attack back efficiently.

If that wasn't scary enough, his clothes were even creepier. Benny's clothes were mostly black. He liked it this way. But Vision was in all black. He had black shoes, black pants, a black shirt, a long, hooded black coat, black gloves, and a black mask that covered everything except his plain, white eyes. He had seen the hood of the coat pulled back at one point and not surprisingly, the mask covered Vision's whole head. As a criminal researcher, Benny found it hard to even tell one detail about Vision except that he was a male of a certain height. And that detail, too, could be wrong. Disguises made things hard.

"Not you again," Wizard said, sighing. "Okay, can we get this over with? What do you want?"

In one hand, Vision had a big stack of money. He looked at it once, or really, Benny didn't know if he was actually looking at it. No pupils or irises were clear in his eyes. Vision then turned to look at Wizard, and tilted his head. "You know what," said Vision in a distorted, unnaturally deep voice. This effect could either be done by powers, or technology. Benny didn't have much information about Vision's powers to make a good guess yet, but his _best_ bet was that it was some kind of filter on his mouth. "I don't need this."

And Vision threw the money on the ground like it was nothing. "Is that all?" Wizard asked, already tired. He didn't want to face this guy anymore. He gave Benny the creeps.

Vision laugh, and stepped forward. Out of instinct, Benny stepped back, too, and Vision's laugh grew louder, his head tilting back a bit. "You're scared." Another step, and Benny tried to stay in his place this time. But the closer Vision got, the more worried Benny was. He stepped back a few steps, and panicked when he hit a wall. Dammit. He should check his surroundings next time he teleports somewhere. He would teleport now, but he knew Vision was blocking Benny's powers. He didn't even need to try. He could move to the side a bit, but that wouldn't do much, and it would show his cowardice.

It came to the point where Vision was a few centimeters away from Wizard. Wizard closed his eyes. Okay, maybe he was sort of a coward. He really should have learned better combat. He knew basics, but nothing worked on Vision. Vision could tell what moves Wizard could make. He was grabbed by the collar, but he wasn't lifted up, or slammed harder against the wall, which was what he expected. There were the mind games again. "You should have a little bit of confidence in yourself, _Benny Weir_."

Benny's heart started racing. How did he know his name? What else did he know? Did he know his secrets? His love life? Family life? What was there for Benny to hide anymore? The only thing he was thankful for at this point was that Vision was whispering so that no one else heard him. But at the same time, his whispers where a thousand times creepier than his normal tone, especially with the distortion.

Benny dared to open his eyes, and he was met with the white eyes of his enemy. This was his first time being this close to his enemy, and to his surprise, his eyes weren't _completely_ white. There was a faint, dark ring that was probably the outline of his irises. He could, for the first time, see Vision's eyes moving. It reassured him that this guy did in fact have human features. And he didn't know why that was so comforting. "I'm more powerful than you think, Wizard." He imagined if he could see the villain's expression, he would be smiling. "You haven't even seen the worst of me, yet you're terrified." He let go of Benny, but didn't step away from him. "I'll see you later, Weir."

With that, the villain walked away, and Benny didn't bother fighting back. As usual, it would be useless. He always felt useless around Vision.

* * *

Benny got back to work, worried for himself, not just because of what had happened, but because of his boss's reaction. As expected, one of his co-workers, Hanna Price, told him to go see the boss, and he was _livid_. "You should tell him, you know," she suggested.

"Are you crazy?" he said, getting off his chair. "He's gonna laugh at my face."

"Okay, he's not as mean as you make him out to be. He's just sick of your lies," she said. She slapped him on his back. "Come on, go."

"Fine, fine." When he had gone to the office, Mr. Hicks started yelling at him again. For the fifth time, he had found out Benny had lied about the excuse. There was no official basis for it. He had contacted the affected family involved in the case Benny had mentioned for his excuse, and they said Benny didn't come for investigations.

Erica Jones, a lawyer who was frequently around or in the police station, came to the office. Oh, thank God. She was one out of about seven people in this place who knew about him. Yes, he was stupid enough to allow seven people to know, but at least he had Erica. She was the most trustworthy person, and the smartest, here. Well, second most trustworthy. Officer Rory Keaner was even kinder than her. She could possibly be smarter than Ethan, though he would never tell Ethan that. The other boy would be jealous.

"Actually," she said, coming in, perhaps having heard the screams, "I wanted him for something. I know he's not officially on my case, but he's the best at his job. I needed some insight from him outside the office."

Aside from her brains, her skills were highly valued in this town, so Mr. Hicks let Benny off this time. He stepped outside, and Erica told him to come join her in the meeting room. He walked in, and she sat in the fancy chair, her eyes piercing through him. He sat down, having no other choice. "You should be more careful, moron. At least plan some lies with me. You're seriously the worst at keeping your secret."

"I know," he sighed, huffing. "But what am I supposed to do when attacks happen frequently?"

"Like I said, be smarter about your lies," she said, seemingly frustrated. "I swear, it's like whatever I say enters one ear and goes out the other."

He smiled a bit, knowing well that she wasn't completely mad at him. She was his friend, even if she doesn't want to admit it. "But you love me."

"You wish," she said, crossing her arms. "Now get back to work. You need to fuel that empty head of yours."

"Hey!" he protested, but he left anyway, and decided to get to the lab for some analysis. He may complain about a lot of stuff, but he definitely loved his job.

He had gotten back home a bit late, like he sometimes did, and fell on the couch, tired. Although he did smell something good. "Are we having spaghetti tonight?" he yelled out.

"Hello to you, too," came his boyfriend's voice. Benny looked to his right to see his boyfriend looking at him from the open kitchen, an amused smile on his face.

"How dare you not answer my question?" he asked, pretending to be angry.

"Oh, no. I'm so scared," Ethan said sarcastic. Why did he always sass Benny and make him feel ridiculous? "I'm sorry. I forget that you're sensitive. I'll try to be less mean." He came over to Benny and leaned down, kissing him on the cheek. Benny did not complain. "Yes, we're having spaghetti." He sat on the edge of the couch by Benny legs. "How's my scientist?"

"Excuse me, I'm a criminologist. Get your facts right," he said, and sat up. "And I'm … meh."

"Meh?" Ethan asked. "Were you bullied again?" Benny nodded. "Yeah, I saw on TV."

Benny pouted. "You're so lucky you work at home."

"Am I?" Ethan asked.

Oh, yeah. He tended to forget how horrible Ethan must be feeling, despite what he let on. Ethan had studied computer science, and had a focus on artificial intelligence, but his anxiety was getting in the way of him getting a job. He had done countless job interviews, but his lack of confidence was a concern for the employers, so no one hired him, although he was considered for his outstanding grades. Other than that, there were great opportunities for him to get a job, but he didn't pursue them, scared of what would happen if he did. And Benny understood. Mental disorders tended to do that to a person, but Benny was proud of Ethan.

He may not be able to get a job in his field of study, but he did make money off of his artistic capabilities. He started drawing online, and eventually started accepting requests from people for a certain amount of money. Benny, for the portion he spent in the apartment, would see Ethan take out his digital drawing tools, or sometimes his pencil and paper, and create something. To say the least, he was amazing at his work, even if he didn't believe he was.

"You know what I mean," Benny said. "You don't have to go to work, and then excuse yourself to go fight villains. It's exhausting."

"You don't have to fight villains, but you do it, anyway." Ethan smiled, and poked Benny. "You're a good person. Plus, you work in a field that I love. I don't think I need to say this for like the hundredth time that I'm jealous."

"I know, but my boss hates me, I can't win my battles, I can't do anything!" Benny exclaimed.

Ethan chuckled. "You should have a little bit of confidence in yourself, Benjamin Weir."

Benny, who was looking at the ceiling, turned to Ethan. The sentence was familiar. He had heard it today from Vision, except the villain said _Benny_ instead of _Benjamin_. This was strange. But maybe he was overreacting. This was Ethan he was talking about. Anxious, friendly Ethan. Even looking at the man, he was smiling at Benny. Oh, he was definitely going crazy. How could he even doubt his boyfriend? Besides, this was a common sentence. People often said it. It was okay. He was okay. Ethan kissed Benny on the cheek, and Benny got up.

"I'll go change. I'm sick of these clothes," he said. At least he didn't have to wear a uniform. He could wear anything formal.

"Okay, I'll check on the spaghetti. Might be ready," he said, and headed back to the kitchen, rolling his sleeves up.

Benny looked at Ethan with admiration, then went to their room, took out his clothes, and got changed.

* * *

Ethan did not check on the spaghetti. He was too busy panicking to even care. "Why am I so stupid?" he whispered to himself. He couldn't let Benny find out. Not now. Not when they were this far into the relationship of two years.

And the way Benny looked at him … Ethan was sure that Benny had caught him. And maybe Benny was on to him now. Either way, he had to pretend as if nothing happened. Or else, he was going to lose everything, including Benny and the life he had with him.

Whatever he did, he was determined not to let Benny know that he was Vision.

It wasn't as if he hated Benny. Not at all. He loved him with all his heart. This whole "enemies" thing – it happened before they had even met. By the time they had started dating, they were already neck-and-neck. Not as if they were both equal in power, but still. When Ethan had tapped into his powers while touching Wizard, he was taken aback. He had seen Benny's face side-by-side with Wizard's, and he thought it was impossible for Benny to be Wizard. This dork … he was Wizard? It couldn't be. But there he was, after a few months admitting that he had a secret identity.

They were certainly a strange pair: a villain attracted to a hero, but they still felt compatible. Sometimes, Ethan would forget that he ever went against Benny because of how nice their moments together were.

He had tried breaking up with Benny multiple times, but it was hard. He loved him too much to let him go. And he knew Benny loved him a lot, too. After all, the other male proposed to him a month ago, but Ethan had said no, scared that getting engaged would only make the betrayal hurt more despite wanting to marry Benny so badly.

"Hey, is it done?" Benny asked.

Ethan looked at Benny, saying, "Huh?" Then he realized he had spaghetti cooking. He took the lid off, and cursed. The spaghetti had slightly overcooked. Great. He took it off the heat, and drained the water. Everything was going wrong today.

He guessed that was obvious, too, because Benny came behind him and wrapped his arms around Ethan. Ethan was scared Benny was going to say something like 'caught you', but no. He kissed Ethan on the cheek, and said in a low, calming voice, "It's okay, baby. You tried your best."

He didn't know how the other male did this, but always managed to calm Ethan down. "Okay," he said, and emptied the spaghetti onto a big plate. He almost touched a hot part in the pot, but Benny had moved it with his powers. He sometimes forgot that Benny had powers since, well, he didn't let him use them during fighting. And they weren't a necessity in the house.

Benny removed his hands, and stood beside Ethan. "Mistakes happen," he said casually. "Believe me, I'm worse than you. I burn every food I touch. Except brownies. Or dessert. Basically, I can just bake. You're good at everything." Ethan stared at the disaster in front of him, and sighed. "Hey, it's not even that overcooked." He gave a goofy grin, and brought the sauce Ethan had made, and put it on the spaghetti.

Ethan smiled slightly. "How are you even taken seriously at work? I bet you see a plant and apologize to it for making it see blood."

"Ah, there he goes," Benny said, and lifted the plate of spaghetti. "Also, don't stereotype me like Americans do to us!"

"We're Americans, too," Ethan said, bringing two cups and some water to the table.

"Okay, Mr. Logic," Benny said, sitting down.

"Brazilians are also Americans, so are-"

"Okay, I get it. I'm stupid, and you're awesome."

"Thank you for acknowledging that," Ethan said, and started eating the horribly done spaghetti. At least, Benny seemed to like it. He could always count on Benny.

* * *

After sketching his ideas down for a request, Ethan decided it was time for him to sleep. He went to their room, and sat down on the bed. Benny was in the bathroom, so he relaxed a bit on the bed, adding to his drawing on his tablet.

Even after all of that, Ethan wouldn't calm down completely. He still worried about what would happen to him. He looked at his closet. He had a mess in it, yes, but that was for the purpose of hiding his Vision-related stuff. Also, he was messy by nature, but besides that- well, he had hidden his clothes well. He had locked away his outfit, written plans, and gadgets in a box. When he'd open it, especially when Benny was there, the box would seem normal. It had Ethan's Copics, and Prismacolors, and all the coloring tools, but it would take significant digging inside to get to the outfit. That is if you weren't Ethan. Ethan had a strategy to get it efficiently. After all, he was a science enthusiast, and one of the sciences he loved was physics. He took advantage of his knowledge and used that to be smart with his secret identity.

His only worry was that Benny was also smart, despite what he gave off. He was a criminologist, which meant he was good at various fields of science. But not programming.

The only reason Ethan had programmed an app and an alarm system for Benny was because he _wanted_ Benny to find him. Though a sign of Benny's smartness was that he had figured it out – Ethan was playing mind games with him. Ethan might be a person with mental issues, but Vision wasn't. Out there, in all that black, he felt different. He didn't feel like himself. And he loved it. He loved feeling confident. He loved being someone who wasn't pathetic and sensitive. He loved being bad.

And, of course, like any villain did, he had a backstory – a reason. But it was too dark. It was too horrible that he didn't even want to remember that there was a reason. He loved his life, but he didn't love his past.

Looking at his phone, he noticed that he got a notification. He opened his phone, and looked at the picture Sarah had sent him. ' _So beautiful_ ,' he wrote to her.

' _Who, me?_ ' she typed back. ' _JK! JK! But I AM awesome_ '.

He sent her a laughing emoji. ' _Of course_ ,' he wrote. Just then, Benny got out of the bathroom, his hair wet, a towel around his shoulders. His torso was bare, as well. Benny wasn't muscular. He was skinny and pale. But Ethan loved that about him.

Benny sat down beside Ethan, and looked at the sketch. "Woah," he said. "The background looks so magical."

Ethan chuckled and put his phone aside. "I'm still not done with it, though."

"A beautiful work-in-progress," Benny added.

"Just like me," Ethan said, laughing, knowing Benny's coming response.

"You mean an arrogant bitch." Benny shook his head, and shoved Ethan aside lightly.

Still laughing, Ethan got off the bed. "Okay, okay. I'll leave you." He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, did his business, washed his hands, then came outside. He took off his shirt, and lied down, sketched some more, then when he was done, he came closer towards his boyfriend.

Ethan looked at Benny, smiling a bit. "I love you," he said, hoping Benny wouldn't forget this sentence. Ethan truly wanted Benny to know that whatever happened, he still loved the guy.

"Me too," said Benny sleepily. "Go to sleep, narcissist."

Ethan smiled, and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Benny wrapping his arms around him, and slept in peace.

* * *

 **There you guys go! I am honestly excited for you to read more. My favorite plot so far, and finally I get to share it! This has been stuck in my head ever since I left Fanfiction, so it feels satisfying to write it the way I intend to. (Also, roommate, friend, look at how inspire I am by you!)**

 **As usual, please leave some feedback. Really helps me, plus it lets me know my audience is reading.**

 **Love you guys!**

 **Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, all!**

 **I am happy you guys are sharing my excitement for this story. I have plenty more ideas for this. Yes, this plot is FULLY developed. Maybe a lot of the in-betweens need working, but I know where I'm headed with this fanfic.**

 **Also, quick note, sorry for the late update. I had midterms and I'm practically dead right now. I'm just glad I'm updating.**

 **Well, enjoy!**

* * *

The alarm on Benny's phone had gone off, and once again, he did not feel like leaving the bed. He had woken up in the middle of the night at two, happy that he had more house of sleep, but maybe the sleep wasn't as satisfying as he thought it was. He got up, but not before a small pillow was thrown at him. He groaned, and turned off the alarm.

"Meanie, stop throwing pillows at me! I'm tired, too!" Benny whined, and went to look through his closet for clothes.

"Then stop waking me up for your stupid job!" Ethan said in a half-asleep manner.

Benny smiled despite his sleepiness threatening to close his eyes. "What am I supposed to do, then?"

"Sleep on the couch outside. I wouldn't miss you hogging the blanket," he said.

Benny knew Ethan didn't mean it. When he was fully awake, he would say this joke with a smile. This was how their mornings went, anyway. Benny picked up a semi-formal shirt, and pants, and went over to Ethan, who was looking at him with half-lidded eyes. He wished he wouldn't interrupt Ethan's sleep, but this was a necessity. He kissed Ethan's cheek and mumbled, "I'd miss _you_ , though."

Ethan nodded, and closed his eyes again. "Go. Get to work, Mr. Scientist."

Benny chuckled and went to change in the bathroom. He got out after having brushed his teeth and washed his face, then walked back to the room to get his stuff. Ethan, though, wasn't in bed. Instead, the sheets have been made, and Ethan's shirt wasn't on the floor anymore. Just then, he heard sizzling. Ah, okay. He must be cooking, then. Good. He loved Ethan's cooking.

Benny grabbed the things he needed for work, and headed to the living room. He put his things on the couch, and went to a kitchen stool, and looked at Ethan do his work. "Feeling energetic now?" Benny asked.

"I wish," Ethan said, not even looking back. He seemed to always be expecting Benny to come. "I'm just forcing myself to be productive during mornings. It's hard." Now he looked at Benny. "How do you do it?"

Benny laughed, earning a smile from Ethan. "I wish I knew, babe. Wish I knew," he said. Maybe in the general sense he was productive, but he always made jokes about being useless at work. Not that he thought he was. He was pretty confident in himself. He just loved making light-hearted comments to cheer people up.

Ethan went back to cooking again, and Benny waited for a few minutes before his breakfast was done. He looked at the plate. Bacon and eggs. He could smell it from the room, but it was even better seeing it in front of him. Ethan sat down beside Benny, and pulled up his own plate. "Eat up. I'll sleep on my food, meanwhile," he said, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the plate, but never getting close to it. Benny laughed at Ethan's shenanigans.

"Stop being a clown. That's my job," he said in response, and Ethan opened his eyes, smiling proudly, and started eating his food.

Benny enjoyed his morning with Ethan, and when he was done eating, he put his plate in the sink for Ethan to wash later. He still had a few minutes to kill, so he sat on the couch, and started browsing through the Internet on his phone. He would eventually glance at Ethan, though. Before, it used to be because he admired him a lot. A man with mental problems who still made the best of his life was someone to be impressed with. But now, Benny was a bit more cautious.

He didn't know whether yesterday's incident was a coincidence or not. Was Ethan Vision? Or was Benny being crazy? Probably the latter. Ethan was too innocent. For crying out loud, he had anxiety! Why would he do crazy stunts when he had anxiety? Plus, he didn't know about any powers that Ethan possessed. If he had white eyes, Benny was sure to notice. Yeah, he was definitely going crazy.

Yet, every move Ethan made was suspicious. He was looking at his phone, headphones in, and watching something while smiling. He would usually do that, but Benny never, ever questioned what Ethan was doing. "What are you watching?" he asked.

Ethan looked up. "Oh, my cousin sent some of her baby's videos on the family group. Her toddler is the cutest."

Oh. Okay. So, it wasn't an evil thing that he was watching. Makes sense. Yeah, for the third time, Benny was definitely crazy. "You love babies, huh?" Benny asked.

Ethan took a second or two before nodding. "They're pure and innocent. Most of them, anyway."

Benny also loved babies, maybe not a lot, but he still enjoyed their presence. And maybe, if the two were engaged, they would be considering adopting a child, but Ethan didn't want that. And Benny respected Ethan's decision, but still, he could always wish. He had desires, and he had a right to be sad about them when they didn't happen.

"Most of them? More like none of them," Benny said, which earned him an eye roll from Ethan.

"Well, obviously, they're little demons, but don't rain on my parade," Ethan said.

Benny chuckled, and hid his face, trying to be funny and goofy. Ethan always enjoyed his acts of stupidity, and smiled, which was a great thing that Benny could make him do for when he's mentally down. Making him smile usually worked. But not always.

"You suck. Go back to your grandma's," Ethan said, laughing and throwing a pillow at Benny.

Benny, in return, simply raised his hand in surrender. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm a horrible person, but anyway, I have work to go to," he said, and grabbed his stuff slowly, Ethan's eyes on him the whole time. Quickly, before Ethan could do anything, he kissed him on his cheek, and bolted to the door. He stood by the exit for a bit, looking at Ethan and grinning like the idiot he was, then left.

He ready for another day at work.

* * *

Today, so far, hadn't been eventful for Benny. Well, he did his job, but that was it. Villains didn't usually attack every day unless it was a really stubborn person that he was facing. Other than that, the villains he usually fought were either defeated, or, of course, there was Vision.

Vision. He was so smart, so calculating, so careful about his every move. Benny could deny it all he could, but there was one similar thing in common between Vision and Ethan: their brain. They were both geniuses at what they did, and they didn't let anything slip. But yesterday – was that a proof that Ethan wasn't who he made himself to be? Or was it a coincidence? He wouldn't be surprised if his boyfriend was lying to him. After all, Ethan never really talked about the personal aspects of his past, just his educational life. Benny didn't press him in fear of triggering something in Ethan, but what if that was all staged? No, what was he talking about? It was definitely real. Sometimes, he would feel Ethan's heartbeat in their tight embraces, and it would be going fast. His panic, it couldn't be faked, and he had medical proof, too.

Now that he thought about it, Vision and Ethan had _a lot_ of differences, too. One thing was that Vision was too confident in himself, while Ethan didn't show any directly. Another is that Vision loved attention, while Ethan hated it. The sadistic things that Vision sometimes did, Ethan would never dare to think of them. They were two opposites, and Benny couldn't be further from the truth. But he did have the right to question things. After all, he was a criminal researcher, and he was just doing his job right now. Looking back at his previous research, it wasn't uncommon that criminals had mental illnesses, or multiple personalities. Especially since a lot of criminals here had powers, too, which made things even more complicated. But this was too much for Benny. He should stop contemplating about his boyfriend, and focusing on his job.

"Weir?" Hannah Price said from the door of the break room.

"Yeah?" Benny asked, expecting a casual conversation like he always had with her when he came to have his cup of coffee here. But he realized she wore a serious look on her face instead of a cheerful one. That's work for you.

"Were you not checking you phone? Erica Jones had called you like three times. Good thing she has my number. She called me to tell you that she needs you in the law firm, now," she said, "also to tell me that she hates me, but when is she ever indirect?" She put a hand on his chest, appearing slightly hurt.

"Oh, shit," he said, and took his phone out from his pocket. Truly, there were three missed calls, but to be fair, phones got in the way of his very crucial job. "I'll get to her right now. Thanks." He patted her on the shoulder. "And don't let her get to you. She just wants you to be less confident. She's actually jealous."

"Yeah, thanks, Benny. I already know how Satan is," Hannah said, and grabbed herself a cup of coffee.

"Burn," he said with a smile, then left. He had called Erica, who, by the tone of her very calm and scary voice, did not seem happy, but he didn't care. None of her tricks worked on him. Once he had gotten to the firm, and was let through, he went to Erica's floor, and then office.

He was so used to seeing her alone in there, so it was surprising to see another girl in there. He had never seen her before, and she didn't seem to be working here, or at least not on this floor since he knew the workers here. Most importantly, Erica was _smiling_. No, she was _giggling_. Who knew she could express joy?

Erica noticed him standing outside her office, and motioned him to come in. Her face showed her seriousness once again, but he could see a bit of her joy threatening to appear. Meanwhile, the other girl was looking at him carefully for a second, before smiling.

"Hi," the girl said. Benny could tell he already liked her. "My name is Sarah. You must be Benny. The … investigator?"

"Researcher," Erica corrected. "He's too dumb to be an investigator."

"Hey, that's mean," said Sarah, laughing a bit and showing disappointment at the same time.

Benny shook his head at Erica. "Yes, I'm Benny." His eyes didn't leave Erica for a few seconds, and she just smiled deviously. "Nice to meet you," he told Sarah.

"Stop staring at my girlfriend," Erica said. "I don't want any of your _Benny-ness_ getting onto her."

Benny just stared at Erica, blinking twice. "Am I here for work reasons or for humiliation?" Unbelievable.

"Both," she said. She turned to Sarah, said a few words in a low voice, and Sarah left with a goodbye. "Sit," Erica told Benny.

And he did. He was kind of scared of what she was going to tell him, but he didn't let that show.

"So," she said. "I'm aware you're the only researcher in Whitechapel who's skilled enough to get involved officially with superhumans." Benny nodded. "Well, guess what, turns out my Bruner case might have something to do with superhumans."

"I know that. I've been informed last night," Benny said. Although he still didn't know how a superhuman was involved. Well, he didn't know _why_ a superhuman would be involved. Bruner after Bruner had disappeared, only to be discovered a few days or weeks later, either bloodied or bruised. It was a messy case with no good evidence lying around, except for the fact that Philip Bruner had admitted to being held by a superhuman, and threatened, but he was not willing to speak any further.

"You're missing the point," Erica said. "Now you can sneak off to do your _other job_ while saying that you were with me. Isn't that convenient?"

Benny sighed. "That's it? That's why I'm here?" he asked.

Erica pulled out some papers, and handed them to Benny. "If only I had the time to have fun." She sighed. "I wanted you here because since they started accusing Philip Bruner of conspiring with the superhuman. I want you to do some research on him for me. Here's just a few information we have so far, plus my plans based on it. While you do you, I'll go talk to the detective on Malcolm Bruner's disappearance. And I need to knock some sense into Philip. If he wants me to be his lawyer, he'd better speak up before I make him cry out the truth."

Benny stared at her for a few good seconds in horror, then muttered, "Okay, then. I'll just get to work, I guess."

* * *

Ethan's day always starts off normal. He turns on the TV just to get some background noises while he drew on his tablet, had some fattening snacks that never really helped him gain any weight, and then took the time to actually enjoy some movies. But after that, things always turned out twisted. He would either plan his next moves, or he'd perform them. Either way, any sane person who would look at what he was doing would be bolting away from him.

Today was an in-between day. He would make some progress, but not in public. He had his own dirty little secrets. Ethan had already distracted and played with Wizard yesterday, anyway. Right now, he just wanted to have his own fun outside of the public's eyes.

At the moment, he was making calls, with, of course, a voice filter, on his secret phone with gang members who he was even ashamed of calling them that. They were scared of him, and it showed in their hesitation and speech. He arranged to come and see them in the hideout.

After that, he fixed himself to go see them. He didn't wear his suit from home. Unlike Benny, he didn't have powers of teleportation, so he had to use normal ways of transportation. He put his suit in his backpack, and was on his way to the hideout. Since he never showed anyone his face, he had to be careful about where he went and how he went. So he went to a place where he knew the gang members didn't have access to inside the building, and entered it, locking the door behind him.

He looked down at his clothes. Thank goodness he went to the right person for the design, because the suit was very comfortable to wear. Except for the mask, but he didn't expect it to be the most nice thing to wear. He held his stretchy mask. It was made out of a rubbery material, with subtle little details on it so it wouldn't appear flat and boring. Everything about his suit was made to be dramatic. Especially the filter on the mouth section of the mask. Good thing he was good at programming, or else disguising his voice would have been made with something cheaply-bought.

Finally, he put on the mask after activating the filter, and ditched his stuff for now. And, of course, he wouldn't forget about the eyes. In the blink of an eye, literally, they were white. It wasn't the blinking that made his eyes white, or else they would be shifting the whole time. It was simply making his powers work. It gave him an awful headache if he used it for long because the whole time, he could see all the possibilities, see all the hidden things, find out what others are doing at this exact same time, their pasts, and everything related. It was too overwhelming, but in his early years of villainy, he was trained to handle his powers well, along with other things, too.

He went outside the room, and locked that door as well. His stuff must remain hidden, especially since he had his ID and license in his bag. He put the keys in his pocket, and lifted the hood of his coat over his head, then went over to the gang leader.

The man, who he never really bothered to memorize the name of, looked down, not able to look at Ethan, now Vision, in the eyes. Or the white in his eyes. With his powers, Vision could tell the man was about to lose his shit. Oh, what's new?

"You're useless," Vision said, walking past the guy, muttering, "You can't even make him do anything, let alone speak. Pathetic."

"I-I tried my best. I'm sorry I let you down," the man said, his voice unstable.

"You bet your ass you let me down," he said. He looked at the one-way window. Although he did admit that the man made a good job having Malcolm Bruner shaking, scared, and beat up. "Mark my words, make one more mistake like this, and you'll suffer just like he is. Do you understand?" He said everything slowly to add to the scary effect. If anything, he did not feel as calm as he sounded.

"Y-Yes, sir," the man said.

Vision didn't care as much for him right now. He just wanted to talk to Malcolm. He opened the door, and stepped in. Malcolm looked up at him in fear. He did not even dare to open his mouth. He just swallowed, but even though Ethan could tell that Malcolm wanted to look away, he couldn't. His eyes were fixed on the scary whiteness.

"Hello, Malcolm," he said. He got no reply. "Nothing's working with you, huh?" He crossed his arms, and stepped towards him. Malcolm leaned back as if that would do him any good in his chair. It was a funny scene, too. He was sweating, lip bloody, hair a mess, with bruises everywhere. "I suppose I can't blame you. Your father is just as stubborn."

Malcolm turned angry, his bloody lips pressed together, his nose flaring. But it didn't seem like he was completely angry. There was still a hint of fear surrounding him. "You're nuts. You drove my dad crazy!"

"For good reasons," Vision said.

"Good?" Malcolm said, his lips trembling. "You're evil."

Vision paid no attention to that, and stepped closer again. Malcolm winced, which made Vision scoff. "You have a big mouth, you know. I need to shut you up, one way or another." He was very close to Malcolm at this point. He grabbed the chair's arms looking at Malcolm in the eyes, who was trying to back away but failing because of the chair. "You know, I'll let you go eventually, but speak of what happened here, and your brother will suffer even worse than any of you did."

Malcolm shook his head. "No, please don't touch him. He's still young."

"I know," Vision said, lingering a bit near Malcolm, then stepped back.

Malcolm seemed like he was about to break down from all of this. "Why are you doing this? What have we ever done to you?" he asked.

Vision smiled from behind the mask. "Revenge."

"What?" Malcolm asked, confused and shocked at the same time.

"Yes, Malcolm. You see, we've met before." Malcolm's eyes turned into saucers from his surprise. "And you've ruined my life, so I'm ruining yours." He let that sink in, and Malcolm wanted to speak, but Vision wouldn't let him. "Let's continue, shall we?"

He closed his eyes. He didn't need to, but it helped him concentrate better. When he opened his eyes, he could see Malcolm's hand trembling even more, but that was it. God dammit. He turned off the voice filter since it practically amplified his voice, and he let himself sigh a bit in frustration without it being heard by Malcolm, then he turned it on again. Why couldn't he get better with his powers? He was pretty sure he had his full powers, but he hadn't reached his full potential yet. And he needed this badly.

And so he tried again and again, and when he felt useless, he just let the gang members torture Bruner until Vision got bored and decided to go back home. Right now, he felt like resting. His head was throbbing behind one eye, which was a good sign. He used to get really bad ones before for using his powers for the same amount of time. He was improving. Still, the headache made him want to take a nap. When he had reached the apartment, he put his stuff away, and then threw himself on the bed. He felt himself relax a bit on the bed. He wanted to stay here forever.

But of course, his eye rest was short-lived as he got a text message. He picked up his personal phone, and briefly, his eyes darted to the candid photos on the table that Jane had taken of him and Benny.

Benny. If he found out about what Ethan was doing, he'd force Ethan to leave this apartment. He would hate Ethan so much for all the shit that's been going on. Ethan wasn't ready for any of that. He loved Benny too much. He couldn't let any more slip-ups happen. He needed to have a good, healthy relationship for once. Well, maybe in reality it wasn't healthy for Benny, but it was healthy for Ethan. For once, he felt happy with his love life. He felt happy with Benny.

He snapped out of this, and looked at the text message. Well, it wasn't text, actually. It was a video from Sarah. He knew it was going to be good, so he pressed on the video, and grinned when he saw the little boy lying down on the couch, his head dangling off it a bit, and his hands thrown in the air in frustration. " _When is he coming? I'm boooooored!_ "

" _I told you, Danny, he's going to come soon,_ " came Sarah's voice. " _But why can't_ I _play with you?_ "

" _Mommy, you're boring._ " He sat up on the couch, and looked at the camera, then away from it, probably at Sarah. " _Daddy knows how to play Lego and build cool stuff! And he makes jokes! Lots of jokes!_ " He giggled. " _He's so funny_." He pointed at the camera. " _Is this for dad?_ "

" _Mhm_ ," she said.

He looked at the camera once again, holding his own hands with a pout on his face. " _Daddyyyyyy! Coooooome! I cleaned my room,_ and _I ate aaaaall of my breakfast. Will you come now?_ " he asked, looking desperate.

" _Daniel, that's not how this works,_ " Sarah said.

Daniel crossed his arms in anger, and Ethan heard giggles from Sarah, only to be met with a smile from Daniel. That was how the video ended. Ethan's smile didn't leave his face for a while. Okay, maybe Benny wasn't the only reason he was happy in life.

Yes, he was a dad.

And he was a proud dad. Daniel was such a great son, taking after Sarah's outgoingness and Ethan's creativity. He might be a bit too loud, but Ethan didn't find that as a bad thing. And his parents were very welcoming to Daniel, and were on board with Ethan when he decided with Sarah to keep him, but they thought he was ashamed of Danny for a while, though, because he never really got to tell Benny about Daniel since he was too scared of Benny's reaction, but that never meant that their speculations were correct. He wasn't ashamed of having a four-year-old son at the age of twenty-five having never married. He was just … scared. That was all.

He got up, changed his clothes, grabbed his keys, phone, wallet, and jacket, then left the apartment to go get a cab. He _would_ drive to Sarah's apartment building, but he and Benny shared a car that was mostly with the other man at work. So, Ethan had to use something else. And he found a cab fast and efficient for a trip to Sarah's apartment.

Once he had reached Sarah's room, he rang the small door bell. Immediately, he could hear jumping from inside, followed by shushing. The door unlocked and he was soon greeted with Sarah, who seemed to be trying to make lunch judging by her half-assed apron, and tied, messy hair. She still looked gorgeous, though, as always.

He smiled and hugged her. "Hi!" he said, and she had said it back with even more excitement than him. She was such a joy to be around. He was glad they were still friends.

Danny had Sarah beat on excitement, though, because before Ethan knew it, there was a tiny boy latching on to his legs, and jumping up and down. "Dad!" Danny exclaimed.

Ethan chuckled and rubbed Danny on his messy head of dark brown hair. "Danny, how are you?"

"I'm good now!" Danny said. He took Ethan by his hand, and started tugging a little bit. "Come on, I have so many games to play!"

Before Ethan could respond, Danny had pulled him away towards his room. "Whoa, you're so fast! I can't run like you!" Ethan said.

Danny laughed a bit, and sat Ethan down on the bed. "Look! Isn't my room clean?" he said, looking proud.

"It is!" Ethan said, trying to appear interested and impressed. "You did all of this?" Danny nodded. "By yourself?" A nod again. "Mommy must be so happy."

"Oh, he didn't tell you about what he did last night, did he?" Sarah said from the kitchen. "No, Mommy's not completely happy, but she's willing to forgive." She appeared by the door, and looked at her boy. "Danny promised me not to lie again, right?" she asked, and Danny looked guilty as he nodded. Then she turned to Ethan. "He broke a button on the TV. I can't turn it off unless I switch off the power."

Ethan motioned for Danny to come by him, and Danny complied, still looking down. "I didn't know it would break," Danny muttered.

"It's okay," Ethan said, moving some of Danny's hair from his face. "Your mom says she's okay with it, all right? Just don't lie to her, and she won't ever be mad again, okay?"

Danny nodded, and finally looked at Ethan, who smiled at him. Danny couldn't resist it, and smiled back, then hugged his dad. He was so cheerful. He made Ethan happy. Ethan rubbed Danny's back, and when he saw Sarah, she seemed content. Then she was gone to make the food while Ethan was left with his son to play games so time would pass. And it was a good distraction for him.

In general, it felt good for Ethan to get caught up in his family life, and to forget about his love life and its problems. When the time came, he went to help Sarah bring food to the dining table. He had gotten to putting the chicken on the round table, and had went back to bring the store-brought juice when he noticed Danny come over, peering at the too high counter. "I wanna help!" said the four-year-old.

Ethan never really said it out loud yet, but he was extremely proud of how Sarah had raised Daniel. And it wasn't as if Ethan had no input; actually, he contributed on the way they raised him, but still, he was happy with how Sarah managed to do such a great job when she was alone in this place. It was a huge responsibility, and she managed to do it well without spreading fear into their son's heart.

He took the juice and gave it to Danny. "Here. This isn't heavy."

Danny nodded. "I can take heavy things, too, Dad! But okay! I can take this to the table!" He walked over to the table, and put the juice on top of it, seemingly with ease. "I want something else!"

"There's no more food to put on the table, Danny," Sarah said. "I'm sorry."

Danny frowned, and didn't say anything. Instead, he just got on a chair, and looked at his parents. "Can I eat now?"

Sarah sat down, and Ethan joined them. "Of course," Sarah said. And so they dug in, Danny telling his stories about what happened to him while he had gone to see his grandparents this morning, the Foxes, while Sarah was at work. That, in turn, prompted Sarah to share her own exciting story.

"Ethan, guess what!" she said, her jumpiness making Ethan chuckle.

"What?" he asked.

"The school contacted me! And right now, you're sitting by this fall's Whitechapel Kindergarten student," she said.

Ethan grinned, obviously delighted by the fact that Danny was going to school. He lightly touched Danny by the shoulder. "He's going to be a genius after this."

Sarah giggled, and Danny beamed proudly. "Thank goodness it wasn't a challenging process, but yeah! He's going to school after this summer. He's very excited."

"Yeah!" Danny said, grinning. "I'll be…" He showed Ethan his hand with his fingers spread out, and counted them, "five! I'll be five when I go to school! Mommy says there will be lots of boys and girls. I'll have _so_ many friends."

Ethan pointed at Danny. "Is he even my son? He's the complete opposite of me."

Sarah laughed, and then rubbed Danny's hair. "Hey, admit that he's very much like me. You know, social," Ethan gagged, "loud," he frowned, knowing where this was heading, "and, you know, not-" The next part she mouthed. Here it came. _Evil_. Oh, why did she have to bring such a topic when Danny was here? Oh, yeah! She loved to rub things in Ethan's face. Now he remembered why they broke up.

Well, that and the pregnancy.

They had finished lunch soon enough, and Ethan had taken the time to look at his phone. Oh, shit. Three missed calls from Benny. He was probably losing his shit right now. Ethan immediately called back, and the moment Benny picked up, Ethan could hear the worry in Benny's voice. He was home early. Of course he was. As he tried to comfort Benny, Ethan's eyes drifted to Sarah who was giving him a judging stare. He couldn't look at her anymore, and for the remainder of the call, he went into a private room to speak. When he was done, he got out, but surprisingly, Danny wasn't in the kitchen like he usually was, trying desperately to be useful in the house. And he wasn't in the living room either. He was either in Sarah's room, or his. Probably his.

"Is he sleeping?" Ethan asked. Danny did tend to take naps.

Sarah shook her head. "Playing," she simply answered. She headed to the couch, and while keeping eye contact with him, she patted a spot. "Come sit, Trouble Maker."

Ethan groaned. "I don't want another lecture, please! I've had enough!" He pouted for effect, but Sarah wasn't going to fall for this.

"Can you please stop giving me that look? You look innocent like that! Oh, wait." She then spoke in a low voice, "You aren't."

Ethan was giving up at this point. "What do you want to do this time? Punch me? Cause your arms are made of iron. I'd rather not do this."

"I don't wanna punch you," she said more seriously and calmly. "I know it's no use because I've told you this so many times, but it's time you stop all this madness!"

"I can't," he said. Although he hated these talks, he was also glad he had someone who he was so open with, someone who despite her disapproval, she still accepted him in her house.

"I know it's hard to stop after four years, but," she motioned towards Danny's room with her head, "he's scared. Your own son is scared of you, and he doesn't know it." Ethan said nothing because there was simply no response to something as shattering as that. "You're just making this town feel more dangerous. He's going to grow up paranoid."

As usual, Ethan could not deal with this. "I told you, I can't stop," he said. He leaned back on the couch. "Are we done here? If we are, I'd like to get back home. Benny's worried."

She shook her head. "No. I mean, yes. I'm done with the subject, but not talking with you. This is really important for me, but-"

"But?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"But I'm dating someone now."

"Good for you?" Ethan said, confused now. Why was this so important? Well, it was for her, but he didn't know why the buildup was there.

"You're gonna hate me for saying this, but I'm dating a lawyer." Oh, no. Cops and lawyers were the worst people to be around him. Even worse was a criminal researcher, but that didn't matter right now. "And it's Erica Jones."

Ethan wanted to die then and there. The only person who was close to him in cleverness was dating the mother of his child? Oh, he was so doomed. "Do you want me in jail or something?" he asked in a low voice so that Daniel wouldn't hear.

"I'm sorry," she said, genuinely looking displeased. "She's really nice, though. I like her. And I want to keep dating her, and you have to accept it. Or, you know, clean up your act."

"Screw you," he said with a hint of a laugh. "Anyway, I was serious. I have to go. Benny is going to kill me if I don't go." He got up, ready to head out.

"Wait," Sarah said before he could step towards the door. She stood up, and hugged him. The two might be exes, and they might not be on the same page moral-wise, but Ethan still felt like Sarah was his best friend in this world. Even his closest friends weren't this accepting of him. "Don't go yet. You haven't even said good bye to Danny."

"Oh, yeah." He felt so stupid. But he went to say goodbye, anyway, and then left, a smile forming on his face. Sarah worked wonders on him.

He got out of the apartment, and headed back home, this time taking the bus since the bus station was so close, anyway. He got off at the nearest place to his and Benny's apartment building, and headed to their floor. He entered the place hesitantly, and for a reason.

Benny was usually mad at Ethan when he didn't pick up his phone. But this time, he looked neutral. Scary neutral. He was on the couch, his hands crossed.

"Um, hi?" Ethan said, closing the door behind.

Benny didn't even look at Ethan. Weird. Actually, not weird. After yesterday's slip-up, he expected Benny to behave differently, but Ethan should continue to act like nothing was going on. And he knew, from his powers, that Benny wouldn't find out today. But it would be soon. And that scared Ethan, because this seemed like something inevitable.

"Were you really with a friend?" Benny asked.

Ethan nodded. Oh, what was he doing? Benny wasn't even looking at Ethan. "Yeah," he said. "Why are you doubting me all of a sudden? I do this every week."

Benny shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems weird to me that you never introduced me to your friend, or mentioned them much."

Ethan sighed. He sat beside Benny, who looked stiff a mile away. Ethan wrapped his arms around Benny, and rested his head on Benny's shoulder. "Babe, is that why you're mad?" No reply. "Come on, I didn't mean to scare you this much."

"Just get off me," Benny muttered.

Ethan felt it again – the dizziness. And he knew worse was to come. He let go of Benny, and had planned to move, but he knew that if he did, he could fall. He wasn't okay. He felt like he was choking, and he could barely breathe. This wasn't happening. He knew in his heart that nothing was going to happen tonight, but the panic attacks that he would occasionally get threw logic out of the window.

It didn't make him feel better immediately, and it took his time, but Benny had held Ethan's hand, and then slowly hugged him. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to say all of that." Wow, it was amazing how a panic attack made Benny change his mind all of a sudden. So this startling change of mind didn't help Ethan at first, but as Benny kept talking, Ethan felt like he believed him.

Eventually, though, Benny had to let go of Ethan, and the brown-eyes male could see that Benny was worrying about Ethan _a lot_. He was a caring man, really. Ethan couldn't not believe him at this point. And for goodness sake, when Ethan looked at Benny again, the other guy was smiling. "There's cookies and cream ice cream in the freezer, if you want some."

Ethan considered it, then nodded. "Sure." He had, once again, wanted to get up, but he didn't. This time, it was because Benny was already on his way to the kitchen to get the ice cream. Ethan let himself relax a bit, distracting himself with Benny's struggle to get the very much frozen ice cream out of the container. He would usually comment and make fun of Benny, but he didn't feel like it right now. He was too tired.

Benny had come back with one bowl, and gave it to Ethan. "You didn't put any for yourself? You love ice cream!" Ethan said, tasting it a bit. It was still good.

"I'm not in the mood for ice cream. Had donuts, and they were way too sugary," Benny said.

"Seriously, those cops are bad influences. _I'm_ the one who's supposed to give you diabetes, not them."

Benny laughed, and pushed Ethan playfully. "You suck." Ethan raised an eyebrow, and Benny laughed even harder. "Not everything is a sexual innuendo, you creep!"

"Are you sure?" Ethan asked, taking a bite of the ice cream and licking the spoon.

Benny shook his head. "And he's back." It was silent after Benny had finished judging Ethan. But Ethan could feel Benny looking at him.

Turning to him, he asked curiously, "Everything okay?"

Benny nodded, and then kissed Ethan's cheek. "I'm just really sorry. I was out of line." A pause. "I love you."

Ethan nodded. "I know." He didn't add to it much because Benny had a good reason to doubt Ethan. They were both enemies. Enemies before they had met face-to-face. But he didn't know that yet.

They shouldn't love each other, but they did. Maybe they should break up. This wasn't right. This wasn't good. "Benny, we need to-"

Benny's phone rang, and he got up, excusing himself. "Hello? Good, and you? Oh, yeah. Erica gave me a task. I did some research on the Bruners, but it's not done. I need to get in touch with their social circle. I'll get to it tomorrow morning. They're off work right now. Okay. Thank you. Have a good day, sir."

Shit. Benny was involved in the Bruners case? Well, Ethan was going to have to be more discreet. Actually, why be more discreet when he could have fun with Benny? Let him know that Vision is involved?

Benny sat down beside Ethan and said, "Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?"

Ethan shook his head. "Never mind. I forgot what I was going to say." He would say that it didn't matter, but if he did, Benny would press on the matter more, and he didn't want that. Plus, he couldn't focus on what was right for their relationship right now. He was too busy thinking of tomorrow's plans.

Oh, he was going to have fun tomorrow.

* * *

 **Tadaaaa! This is just the tip of the ice berg. Ethan is way more sinister than I'm making him out to be. I'm showing his soft side right now. I have** _ **big**_ **plans. Get ready for more evilness, because I've got lots up my sleeves.**

 **I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a review. Helps me out a lot and lets me know you guys are reading.**

 **Wow, I feel like a YouTuber but in text form. Anyway…**

 **Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back, and more excited than ever. Midterms are mostly over, and the stress is … not gone, but less.**

 **I have soooo much planned for this story. You guys just wait. You haven't seen nothing yet! With that said, enjoy!**

* * *

It was Friday, which meant after Benny was off work, he could spend time with his boyfriend and his family during the weekend. Mostly, that is. As he was specialized in supervillain cases, that meant there was no rest for him. Supervillains were even more unpredictable than regular criminals. Especially that pain in the ass, Vision, who Benny still suspected might be his boyfriend, for some strange reason.

As he was on his computer, trying to dig up the past of a recently caught villain, his phone vibrated in his pocket continuously, giving off the impression that he was receiving a phone call. There was only a limited amount of people who called him. Ethan, Erica, and his grandma. The rest of the people he knew just texted him. To his luck, Erica was calling. Great. This either meant she wanted to annoy him, highly unlikely as she was more serious during working hours, or that there was something case-related. Either way, he was not excited.

"Hello?" he asked.

He expected the usual, calm Erica to answer, and well, she was mostly calm while she spoke, but her tone held a hint of excitement. "Bruner case emergency! Now! Hurry up, you sorry excuse of a researcher."

"Wow, speak to me in that tone again and I might not-"

"Now!"

"Jesus Christ, fine! Coming!" He closed the phone, not even wanting to say goodbye in fear of her yelling at him for wasting time. When she worked, she was scary. He grabbed his stuff, and hurried to the door.

"Weir, where are you going?" Mr. Hicks asked.

"Jones. She needs me," he said, hands on the door knob.

"So nothing new. Fine. Leave. But I'm watching you."

"Yes, sir," he said, and left to get into the car. In a few minutes, he found himself parking in front of the firm. When he reached Erica Jones' office, he noticed her pacing left and right, her pensive expression concerning. She was always so sure about herself. Whenever a strange case appeared, she would be quick to speculate to stay ahead of the game. But now, it was strange how she seemed stuck.

"Oh, there you are," she said, relieved. "Guess who reported a piece of evidence to the Bruner's case."

"I don't know," he mumbled, not a single person coming to mind.

"Ugh, you're such an idiot." She motioned for the chair, so he sat down. "Malcolm Bruner's mother! He called!"

"What? He called? I thought he was missing!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I thought so, too. Here's the thing. She had her husband come in and record the conversation. The tone on his voice, it was oddly calm. Here. Listen." She put in a USB into the computer, and after she clicked on the audio file, Benny felt the hairs on his body stand up.

" _-are you right now?_ " It seemed like the recording started in the middle of the mother speaking.

" _I'm fine, Mom. Don't look for me. I'll come back._ " He looked at Erica, not because of what Malcolm Bruner said, but how he said it. The tone of his voice was casual. Way too casual for someone who had been missing for three days.

" _Are you being held captive?_ " While Malcolm spoke in a calm tone, his mother had panic all over her voice. She was yelling, desperate for answers. But there was no response from her son. " _Who's holding you captive?_ "

" _I can't say anything. But it's okay. He'll let me get back to you._ " A shaky breath, probably from Malcolm. He? Who's he? Could it be Vision? But as far as they knew, Vision only terrorized the town, and he never kidnapped. Perhaps until now.

" _Get back to me? What? Did he hurt y-" Beep, beep, beep._ Call was over, and so was the recording.

"I know. Malcolm seemed strange, right?" Erica said. "Another strange thing: his mother said he never talks like that. I mean, forget the tone of his voice. But the sentences he said are not like him at all. He's way too direct normally, some would say more on the naïve side, but he's never vague like that."

Benny nodded, understanding why this was frustrating for Erica. "Oh, this is definitely something superhuman related. If Malcolm was being threatened to sound calm, we'd know, but his voice was completely stable. Even if we say the mind controller we knew was behind this, last time I checked, she's in prison. And we know she can only control the minds of people she can directly see, but I'm pretty sure Malcolm isn't somewhere near the prison cells."

"I know. But that's why I called you. You're always on the lookout for villains, so if you see anything in one of your … battles, call me."

He nodded. For the rest of his time here, they shared what they had both found, which was basically minimal, he noticed. At the moment, this case seemed unsolvable. How the hell were they supposed to find out what was happening to the Bruners?

* * *

By the end of his day at work, Benny got up and stretched. Finally, he could go back home and rest, perhaps sleep for the rest of eternity. That sounded great. Sadly, he felt his phone vibrate again. Oh, he hoped it was his grandma, or Ethan. Someone but Erica. Of course, it had to be her. "Hello? Did something happen again?"

"Hey, no. Nothing happened. I just called because, you know, it's Friday night. I wanted to hang out somewhere, if you're up for it. I'll bring my girlfriend, and you can bring, I don't know, Officer Keaner. I know you two are friends."

"Oh, I did not expect that from you," he said, a bit skeptic about this. He headed out the door, biting his lips on what to respond with. The sun was setting, so he didn't know how soon she wanted this to happen. Oh, it didn't matter. He needed a break, anyway. "Yeah, then. I'll come."

"You know what, why don't you bring your boyfriend? I've never met him. This would be a perfect chance to meet him," she said. "If he doesn't want to, I get it, though. You _did_ tell me he has anxiety, so…"

Oh, crap. He forgot about Ethan being alone at home. Well, maybe Ethan would be leaving to his friend's house, like he usually did. Benny admitted, he was a bit bitter about that, but he guessed he was just jealous, and he had the right to be. "I'll see. I'll talk to both guys. Text me the details, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. See you!" They hung up after Benny said his goodbyes, as well.

First thing Benny did was call Rory, who was immediately down for it. The guy was annoyingly excited about this. If only he said no, but what was Benny supposed to do about it? Rory Keaner was kind to Benny, and he had kept his secret for longer than Erica had.

Next, he needed to talk to Ethan, if he was even home. Thankfully, when he opened the door to the apartment, Ethan was there in front of the TV, wrapped in blankets. Benny chuckled, which made Ethan turn around.

"Don't judge me, fuckface!" he said. "The room is cold, and I'm too lazy to turn the air conditioner off."

"Yes, cause it's more convenient to go grab the blankets from the back of your messy closet." Benny put his bag down on the couch beside Ethan, and kissed him on the cheek. "What I meant is, hey, cutie."

"No, what you mean is 'hey, big, buff, muscular, hot, boyfriend'," he said, laughing through the sentence.

"Sure. It's more accurate," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He sat down on the couch, and went straight to the point. "So, I know you love cuddling on the couch on Fridays, but my friend Erica invited me to," he looked at the text she sent him two minutes ago, "dinner and some drinks at McAllister's." He looked at Ethan again. "She'd really love to meet you, and there's only gonna be two other people with us, plus Erica."

Ethan exhaled. "I don't know. I hate social interactions." Benny gave him puppy dog eyes, which usually never works because Ethan was a master at the arts, as well. "Fine. Whatever. So, we're just five?"

That was unexpected. Ethan never hung out unless it was with his own friends. Oh, well. Benny wasn't complaining. "Thanks. I'll pay you back."

"Well, since you offered … I'll have brownies. Your brownies. Not store-bought one." Benny counted that as a success.

Since they had two hours to kill, Benny spent his time with Ethan, chatting, laughing, playing video games. It was nice to be around Ethan. His energy made Benny feel good. Oh, how stupid was Benny to ever doubt his boyfriend?

"I love you," he said to Ethan as they were preparing to leave.

"You okay?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Can't I share my feelings?"

"You don't share your feelings five times in the span of four minutes. I counted. What's gotten into you?" he asked.

Was he that obvious? "It's just that I'm having a tough time at work. Cases are getting complicated, so I guess I'm just tired."

Ethan seemed unsure about this, but he just accepted this, and said, "Okay. Well, it's a good thing we're out drinking. Actually, you drink. We still need someone to drive." They agreed on that, and they were off to McAllister's.

* * *

It was a good thing Benny had told Ethan where they were going two hours before they had to leave because, well, when Benny told Ethan who exactly was coming along, Ethan realized he knew two people from the group. Sarah and Rory. He was not ready to tell Benny that he had known both of them since he was in college. He'd rather keep his lies consistent. So, he had texted both of his friends, and told them that he had to pretend he didn't know them. Thankfully, both agreed to this. Rory was a bit hesitant, but he was okay with it at the end.

How he wished this was the worst part – pretending he didn't know the mother of his child, or that he didn't know his college best friend. It was that even though Benny was a bit more back to normal today, Ethan still felt the distance growing between the two of them. It was gut wrenching, but it was bound to happen with all the slip ups Ethan was having. His job right now, though, was to make Benny suspect him less. Hard, but not impossible.

On their ride to the restaurant slash bar, Ethan started feeling much more nervous. Benny, behind the wheel, seemed to have noticed that. "It's okay, Ethan. If you don't wanna do this. I can just turn around. You're not obligated to do anything."

Ethan shook his head. "No, it's fine. I guess I'm just nervous because this is my first time seeing your friends, is all." Lies.

"You sure?" Benny asked, and Ethan nodded.

The five minutes it took them to reach the place passed by very quickly, and soon enough, the two males were at their destination. They got out of the car, and the mere action of standing up actually made Ethan feel a bit better. They got into the place, and in a booth in the corner of the room, he saw two ladies. One was a confidently beautiful blonde – Erica Jones – and the other was the girl he knew and loved, which was Sarah Fox. Rory wasn't there yet. The girls smiled at them when they approached, though they were totally different smiles. Erica's was a smirk, directed mostly at Benny. Sarah's, meanwhile, was sweet and welcoming. She even stood up and shook both of their hands.

"Hi … Benny," Sarah said, crossing her fingers in one hand in hopes of getting the man's name right.

"Yep, the one and only," he said. "Um, actually, not the one and only Benny out there." He scratched the back of his head. "Oops."

Sarah giggled. Oh, Benny's jokes were so bad, but Sarah was considerate enough to laugh at this one. Ethan would not recommend it. "It's okay. And you're his boyfriend?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ethan said. "Hi. My name's Ethan."

"Nice to meet you, Ethan. I'm Sarah." It was strange talking to her like he doesn't go to her place at least four times every week. Like he doesn't talk to her about his deepest secrets and concerns. It was truly an unlikeable feeling, but seeing as his whole life was based on lies, this wasn't that significant to him as much as his other secrets were. Oh, you know, like how he was secretly the most feared villain in Whitechapel.

"Hellooo! I'm here," Erica said, waving her hand. She looked at Sarah. "Why do you have to be so extroverted? Now I feel inferior."

Sarah sat down, and bumped Erica's shoulder. "This is a trap. You never feel inferior. You can't fool me."

Erica extended her hand to shake Ethan's. Maybe it was because she was the most successful young lawyer in Whitechapel, but Ethan felt uncomfortable around her. If there was anyone who can find out who he was, it was her, or Benny. Actually, the two were a team, weren't they? They were one of the few people who were experts in dealing with superhumans. Wonderful. As if Benny wasn't suspecting Ethan enough, and now Erica, not-easy-to-impress Erica, as he's heard, was going to express to Benny how disgusting she found Ethan.

"Hi, Ethan. You must know me," Erica said. Sarah mouthed mockingly ' _must_ '. "Erica Jones. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," he said. Lies!

"Erica, stop trying to intimidate him! He doesn't need this right now," Benny said, and took a seat. Ethan joined him.

"It's okay. It's not bothering me," Ethan said. _Lies!_

Erica took a sip from her water, of course looking flawless as she moved her fingers to touch the neck of the glistening glass. "Whatever."

"Hey, sorry guys," a voice came. Ethan knew that voice. It was Rory. He turned to look at the blond guy. Despite the fact that the two texted frequently, Ethan hadn't actually seen the guy in months. He had grown out barely seen blond stubbles on his face, and he has what seems to be a healing scar on his forehead. Probably tripped and fell rather than got hurt on the job. He was a clumsy, anyway. Ethan missed him. "Had to help my partner with something real quick. But I'm here." He looked at Sarah. "Oh, hey, Sarah!"

She got up and hugged him. "Oh, my God! It's been a while," she said, grinning from ear to ear. Ethan had forgotten the two were acquaintances who most likely hadn't seen each other since Rory had dropped out of their college and had gotten into the police academy.

"You two know each other?" Erica asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah," Sarah said, letting go. "We knew each other in college. I dated his roommate, so we saw each other a lot." She seemed to hesitate to give that information, but it was a good thing she was still not giving that many details.

"How's it been?" Rory asked. "Cause I mean, you still look awesome!"

"Hey, don't hit on my girlfriend. She's mine," Erica said.

Sarah grinned at the comment, but replied to Rory with. "Thanks, Rory. I'm good."

Rory, with his positive mentality, instantly lifted the mood in the room, somehow. He was very talkative sometimes, but that was part of his charm, too. The officer looked at the two males. "Hey, Benny. And … I forgot." Smooth, Rory. Ethan was pretty sure Benny told Rory about his relationship, so this just hurt. Thanks a lot, dude, he thought.

"Well, we haven't met, so it's okay. I'm Ethan." _LIES!_

Lies, lies, _lies_! Why couldn't he just be truthful with Benny for once?

After the five of them had gotten over the formalities, they had begun ordering the food. By the arrival of the main courses, the conversations came easier, and they were all more comfortable around each other, it seemed.

"Okay, but Sarah, how are you even dating Erica? She's way too much," Benny said, and then filled his mouth with a piece of steak. Charming.

"Excuse me?" Erica said, seemingly offended but it was obvious she didn't care about what he said. She was like the complete opposite of Ethan. Confident, scary, and _good_. All things Ethan wasn't. But they did have one thing in common: their brains. Actually, now that he thought about it, this was the perfect time to get to know who she was. Okay, so there _were_ ups to interacting with others.

"She's actually really nice with me. Believe it or not, this sarcasm and cruel personality, it's all acting," Sarah said. Erica gasped exaggeratedly. "Yeah, that's right. Exposed."

Benny chuckled. "Yeah, I can believe that."

Erica said nothing and ate her food with a dramatically salty expression. Then she took attention to Ethan. "So, Ethan, what do you do for a living?"

Benny gave her a dirty look, but Ethan was okay with the question. "I draw for profit."

"Oh, an artist. What do you draw for?" she asked.

"Whatever people request, really. Book covers, logo designs, portraits, all sorts of things. Well, I won't draw everything."

"Interesting," she said.

"And you're a lawyer," Ethan noted. "I actually considered studying law, but I realized I wasn't into it as much as I thought."

"Oh, really? Didn't take you for a law kind of person. Actually, I didn't think you'd be an artist," she said.

"Art is my hobby. I actually studied computer science, but no luck in this field," he replied.

"Really? But I heard you're very good. I mean, Benny told me you programmed some things for him."

Erica was smart, as Ethan had thought. Here he was, trying to ask her the questions, and failing. Instead, she had taken the role of the interrogator herself and turned the tables. That was part of her job, after all. He wasn't surprised.

"Didn't say I wasn't good," Ethan said, taking a sip of his water.

Benny chuckled. "Don't let his face fool you. He's _very_ cocky."

"Hey, stop exposing me," Ethan said, which earned him a laugh from Sarah and Rory. "Anyway, I love drawing. It's calming. But I guess I have one of the easier off jobs. I bet being a lawyer is stressful."

"Very. But rewarding. Best feeling, though, is seeing asshole lawyers being crushed," she said.

"You're sadistic," Sarah commented with a laugh.

"And very serious! Lawyers like me are the ones who gain respect. I'm the hero here!" Erica replied. Sarah gave her side eyes, and nibbled on her food. "Aw, babe. Fine. You're the hero." She looked at Benny. "She is. She's a mom. She deserves all the respect in the world."

"Really? A mom?" Benny asked. "That's awesome."

Ethan swallowed. He wasn't shocked that Erica knew about Daniel. She _was_ dating Sarah, and she had the right to know about who lived with her girlfriend, and who was part of her family. "Yeah. Haven't seen the kid yet, but I hope I will."

Sarah pointed at her. "At least in a week. I'm taking this slow. I told you."

"What's the name of the child?" Rory asked.

"Well, Daniel, but the whole family calls him Danny," she said.

"Danny? That name's familiar," Benny said. Yeah, that's because Ethan once mentioned the name and pretended like it was a close relative's son. "Probably because it's a very common name. That's why."

Sarah laughed. "Probably." Ethan noticed the brief look Sarah gave him. He really hoped no one noticed it.

* * *

As they left, Benny had to quickly talk to Rory about something 'important', whatever that meant for Tipsy Benny, which left Erica, Sarah, and Ethan walking behind. But Sarah had received a phone call from her parents concerning Daniel, so she had to step aside. That left Ethan and Erica walking behind. Oh, boy.

"Listen," she started in a low voice, low enough for only him to hear. "I know this doesn't need to be said, but I care about Benny. He's like a little brother to me. He pretends to be tough, but he easily takes in people's energy. He's very receptive. I've noticed that in him. With that said, don't you dare ever hurt him."

Ethan gave a small smile, a passive one. "I know you're concerned, but I would never hurt Benny. I love him too much to do anything to hurt him."

"That may be so, but I don't know you well. And I don't-"

"Stop it. Seriously, I'm not trying to get on your bad side. And I'm trying to be friends with you for him. So stop talking to me like I'm a bad boyfriend to Benny," he said.

Erica smiled. "I can see why he likes you."

Ethan felt relieved, like he passed a test. But he felt like he cheated, in a way. It was true, Ethan would never try to deliberately hurt Benny. To say the least, he was in love with the guy, and he hated seeing him get mad because of something Vision did. But at the same time, he _was_ hurting Benny. With every second of him living this lie, he was damaging their relationship. He wasn't creating a perfect lie, which meant that one day, Benny will find out about the truth, and it would create a damage beyond repair. A damage just like the one Ethan had experienced five years ago. Or perhaps a bit less frightful than the one Ethan had. Funny how the world worked. Ethan was ripped apart by someone he thought would be there for him, and he'd eventually do the same to Benny. Why couldn't he just break up with the damn idiot and rip the bandage off without Benny knowing it was there in the first place? Oh, yeah. Cause Ethan was a pussy. He always had been.

They had all said their goodbyes, and Ethan led Benny to the passengers' seat, and then drove back to their apartment building. Benny was sober enough that his sentences made sense, but all together, there was no actual aim to the one-sided conversation he had. Ethan, meanwhile, felt empty. He wished he was the one who drank, but that would've only ended badly. He could've said something he would regret, and his whole plans would come to an end quicker than he thought they would.

The two guys prepared to sleep that night. Benny was a bit horny, but Ethan wasn't going to have sex with his slightly drunken boyfriend. "Come on, we have to sleep, Benny. It's late now."

Benny pouted. "I want a kiss."

"Fine," Ethan said, and gave one on the forehead. One day, he wouldn't have the chance to do this, neither to a drunken Benny nor a sober one. He needed to cherish these moments a bit more. "I love you. Don't you forget that, okay, idiot?"

Benny nodded, then put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. I need to sleep now." Ethan smiled, and he slept as well.

He was quick to sleep, but that night, he didn't have good dreams. Sometimes, he'd have vision dreams, like he did just now. When he was physically in them, he was aware that he was dreaming, so that sometimes caused him sleep paralysis, which was even more scarier than what his dreams showed. But when God had mercy on him, his vision dreams were just like normal visions, a display of certain events, and that was it. But he wasn't lucky today. He had opened his eyes, and found himself standing in the void of his vision dreams.

He looked around, waiting for something to happen. Goodness, why was it so cold? It was supposed to be just a dream. He shouldn't feel anything. But that's how cruel his powers were to him sometimes. They made him feel pain, temperature, and other sensory experiences.

"Hello?" he asked. Sometimes it worked, sometimes his calls for someone made people appear. It didn't seem to work this time. "Anyone here? Anything here?" Nothing. No response. Nothing appeared. He hated being alone. It had to be his number one fear.

Thankfully, a few seconds later, he found himself stepping into the apartment. The place felt strangely empty despite the fact that Benny was there. He looked angry, sad, and tired. It didn't suit him at all. Ethan had never actually seen him display such negative emotions. He was always happy. Where did Happy Benny go? The scene went black again, and Ethan heard glass shattering all around him. He jumped in his place out of fear, and he thought the dream was over. It wasn't. He was still trapped in here, waiting for something else to happen.

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to leave. He didn't want to be alone in his weird dream world. He opened his eyes. Still nothing was happening. He put his right hand on his left arm, for comfort reasons, but as soon as he did that, he felt the wetness in his fingers. He panicked, already smelling the iron. He looked down. Blood.

No, no, no. This was bad. It wasn't the blood that was disturbing, it was the meaning behind it. But he didn't know the meaning. He didn't know what was going on.

Police sirens sounded, and he looked up. A body bag was being lifted by four figures, which looked like authorities. "Holy shit," he whispered, his legs becoming weak. He'd only once seen a dead body, and it was his own fault. He had only killed out of self-defense. He would have been dead if he didn't do it. Still, it was the most scarring experience he had had.

Was he going to do it again? Was he going to kill someone? And who was the person going to be? Who would soon join the same fate as Jesse Black's?

If that was scary, the worst part was trying to wake up. He closed his eyes, opened them, but he could still see the dead body being taken away. He had to wake up. The second time around, he succeeded. He was conscious. But that was it. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He had the usual feeling of something pressing on his chest. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. _Okay, Ethan. Calm down._

There was shifting in the bed, he felt. Benny was here. If only he could communicate with his boyfriend. He felt a kiss on his forehead. It would've been sweet if he wasn't struggling to move. Then he felt Benny leave the bed. But he was still in the room. _Calm down._ It was mentally painful, trying to move, but he had done it successfully after reading about it online. Eventually, he was able to move his body. He opened his eyes, and sighed in relief. He hugged the blanket close to his body, and put a hand on his chest. He was breathing heavily.

Benny, by his closet, had turned around. "E?" his eyes widened, realizing what had happened. He knew how serious Ethan's sleep paralysis was, and he knew Ethan dealt with it well, but it never stopped him from worrying too much, which Ethan wasn't going to complain about. He came over to Ethan and hugged him. "Oh, my gosh. Did you have another lucid dream?" he asked. He gave a kiss on the temple. Ethan nodded, not speaking. He didn't want to form any sentences before he was sure he was all right. "You're okay now. I just wish I knew when it would happen to you so I could help, but it's hard to tell."

Yeah, probably because Ethan didn't have normal lucid dreams. They were vision dreams. He was probably not going to have the same reaction as one would when lucid dreaming. "It's okay," he whispered. "It doesn't happen on a regular interval, so it doesn't matter."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Of course it does," Benny said.

Ethan snuggled next to Benny. "I'm sorry I made you scared," he said.

"As long as you're okay now, I'm fine," Benny said.

Ethan nodded. His mind went back to his vision dream. Oh, right. Blood. Body bag. He looked at Benny. It couldn't be him, right? He would never kill Benny. He wouldn't want to kill anyone. Especially Benny. He was the only person who knew how to comfort Ethan, and to make him feel special and good about himself. But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed likely that Benny was going to die in his hands than anyone else. It couldn't be a coincidence that last night, Erica had talked about Ethan hurting Benny, and he had a vision dream that included a body bag and blood in his hands.

He hugged Benny even tighter. He didn't want to hurt him anymore. "God, I love you so much."

Benny chuckled. "I know, I know." He rubbed Ethan's arm a bit before pulling away from him. "I'll go make some eggs and bacon. You go get changed." Ethan nodded.

* * *

Benny had made sure this morning was a good one for Ethan especially after what had happened to him when he woke up. It was a very calm morning in general, and he frankly liked the quiet in the place. He may be a loud person, but he loved to have peace every once in a while, especially since most of his time as Wizard, he spent his time literally throwing punches at criminals who knew no better than to mess with him. Some TV and breakfast was perfect for him.

"I'll go take a shower," Ethan said. He washed his plate, then he headed to the bedroom's private bathroom.

Benny was now alone in the living room. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. He felt it went well. But damn his mind, it was still suspicious of his boyfriend. Maybe he was being stupid, again. Maybe he shouldn't even be thinking of this. Still he felt he had to ask his friends about their impression of Ethan. So first, he called Rory, who excitedly said he liked the guy. He knew Rory had to say positive things, but still, the confirmation put him at ease. Then, he thought to call Erica.

"Hey," she said. "Sorry. Not trying to be rude or anything, but I did not expect you to call. Especially not in the morning."

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry to bother you," he replied.

"You're not. Just get to the point, doofus. What do you want?" she asked.

"Well, I just wanted to ask you about Ethan. What do you think of him? Do you like him?"

A pause. "Why are you even asking me this? Do you have trust issues or something?"

"No, it's not that. I just … Okay, can I be honest with you?" he whispered, even though he could hear the water running in the shower. Ethan was showering, not anywhere within listening range.

"Yeah, of course," she said.

"I don't think I trust Ethan as much as I used to. I'm asking for your opinion because you're a lawyer. Maybe you noticed something, too," he said.

"Listen," she said. "I'm no expert in psychology, so I can't give you a one-hundred percent analysis of your boyfriend. And I don't wanna cause friction between you and Ethan. I think you two are a great couple. But … if I didn't know better, I would have liked Ethan a lot. But there's something about him that I don't trust, either. I could be delusional. Sometimes I over-analyze things that aren't even there. I really don't want to be the reason you two split up or anything."

It was so strange hearing Erica not mocking Benny, and actually being sympathetic and supportive. With that said, he never imagined, that he'd see her like this in a situation such as this one. Oh, Ethan. What are you hiding?

* * *

 **Boom. Dropped a lot of bombs here on you guys when I thought I'd do that later, but I felt it fit with the flow more. I'm really excited to share more of this story with you guys. Like I said, this is still nothing compared to what I'm planning to do. Stay on the edge of your seat cause I'll be teasing you more in later chapters. So. Much. Planned. Ah!**

 **I'd love to actually hear your guys' speculation about Ethan's past. I'm curious what you concluded so far.**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, readers!**

 **Last chapter, I let you guys guess Ethan's past. I gotta say … very impressed with you guys. Yes, ya'll got it wrong, but your conclusions hold some validity and truth. I don't know how much I'll reveal each chapter, but I'd soooo love to hear your guys' change in theories if I do reveal something. It's** _ **really**_ **fun for me to read. It makes me feel engaged with you guys!**

 **Also, I did not think this point through, but I realize a lot of law enforcement is in this fic, so if there are inaccuracies, I apologize. Give me some slack, too. I don't know law. XD (Help?)**

 **Let's not stall. We shall begin!**

* * *

The best part about the weekend for Ethan was forgetting everything related to his secret identity. Yes, there were days that Ethan took breaks in, but he was never not thinking about his plans, his schemes, and all the enemies. That is, except in the weekends. Although that was a perk, one of the bad parts that he has to endure during the weekend was seeing Benny's grandmother, Evelyn.

It seemed rude to have such a thought, and Ethan was aware of it. He might be evil, but he was a respectful guy when he wasn't Vision. But it seemed that since day one, Mrs. Weir never actually liked Ethan the way either of them hope. It was more like she _endured_ him.

After the couple had spent their time together during the morning, they got dressed and headed to Benny's grandmother's house. If only Evelyn didn't judge Ethan so much, maybe he'd actually like the place. The only area he liked in the house was Benny's childhood bedroom, and that was because it was judgement-free.

The car was parked in the empty garage, and the two made their way to see Evelyn. As usual, Benny seemed to notice Ethan wasn't his usual self when he was going inside, but he didn't say anything. What was strange, though, was that he didn't look concerned. Ethan wasn't much of an attention seeker – in fact he hated attention – but he knew Benny was fully aware of how Ethan didn't like to be here much, and he didn't seem to care much this time. Maybe it was better that Benny seemed more distant, anyway. It wasn't a good idea for them to be so close, especially since Ethan might turn into Benny's murderer.

He didn't want to think about that. He hated the idea. Benny was the only person he ever loved romantically. It just seemed so strange that he'd do that. Will the two guys fight so badly that things end up this way? This only made Ethan want to embrace his boyfriend. But that wasn't happening – not here, anyway. Evelyn would only hate how affectionate Ethan was.

"Benny!" exclaimed Evelyn when she saw her grandson. She hugged him, thrilled to see him like she always was. Then she pulled away and smiled at Ethan. It was such a fake smile. "Ethan, how are you?" _You don't care about me. Why do you ask?_

Ethan nodded. "I'm good."

"Well, sit down, you two. I'll bring you some beverages." And so, the two men sat down in the living room. The further Ethan walked into the house, the more he wanted to escape. _I'm not welcome here. What am I doing?_ His legs forced him to stand in front of the couch, and his muscles gave him no option but to sit. At this moment, Benny did seem concerned. A part of Ethan was relieved and a part of him didn't want this to happen. _I'm just ruining things. You're doubting me, and you know it. Why are you nice to me?_ Benny held Ethan's hand and kissed him on the cheek. That didn't make Ethan's concerns go away, but he did feel better.

"Don't worry," Benny whispered to him. "She really doesn't hate you. I think she's just protective over me." Right. Because Ethan was a danger to him. _Benny, why did you have to speak?_ The only thing he did was make Ethan's anxiety worse. When Ethan said nothing, Benny added, saying, "You don't believe me."

Well, of course he didn't believe Benny. Benny probably didn't overhear his grandmother talk to Ethan in private, saying literally how she didn't like or trust Ethan. She didn't know why she felt that way, and she seemed like she was trying hard to like him, but he guessed her gut instincts were right. Benny shouldn't be with Ethan. And he shouldn't know what happened between them. "I'll try to," he whispered back.

Once again, Benny gave Ethan a kiss on the cheek, and just then, his grandmother came with the beverages she had prepared. For the rest of their time there, Benny talked to his grandmother while Ethan stayed silent, sometimes only talking to answer some questions directed at him. But he knew better than to speak up and have Mrs. Weir hate his guts even more.

They usually stayed until before their usual lunch time come, which was when they'd leave to go eat at a nice place. This time, though, even an hour before that, Benny got a phone call. Ethan accidentally took a peak. He didn't really care who it was – well, that's what he thought until he saw Erica's name. Oh, right. He forgot Benny was suspicious of him. Just as he'd seen in his visions, Benny was going to be around the lawyer a lot, trying to figure out whether Ethan was vision or not. He couldn't believe his boyfriend would do this to him. He knew Benny had rights to suspect Ethan of such a thing because _it was true_ , but this relationship was so screwed.

* * *

Benny was thankful Erica had called him. When he had called her earlier this morning, they had planned to meet up urgently when Erica was ready. He was supposed to go to her house to discuss this and to build some solid base on Benny's suspicions. Benny hoped he was right or else Ethan would be dating a guy who had trust issues based on _one freaking sentence_.

Oh, my God! Benny hated himself. How could he think such a thing? He hoped he was right? No, he definitely hoped he was wrong. Ethan was supposed to be innocent and good. He didn't want to find out that he was secretly seeking destruction – the sole thing Benny was trying to prevent as a superhero and a criminal researcher. He was with the law, and he was going to stand by it.

He was with it, but he didn't know everything about it. He was aware of a good portion, which was enough to get him through his job. This was where Erica's help came in handy. She was a lawyer, and she could help him – even the smallest amount help was good. During this call, she told him to meet up with her now. With that he ended the call and went to hug his grandmother before he left, and Ethan also got up to leave. They both headed to the garage, Benny's steps a bit faster than usual while Ethan was slowly trailing behind.

"Is it fine if I bring you home and take the car? I need to do something right now," he said.

Ethan got into the passenger's seat as Benny started up the engine. "You can take the car. Just drop me off by the park. My friend's house is near there. I'll hang out with her."

Benny nodded, and started driving away from the house, waving at his grandmother as she looked at him with a smile.

On his way to the park, a part of himself was curious about something. "Who is this friend you hang out with?" He's never asked this question as Ethan didn't like talking about his friend a lot.

Ethan seemed surprised. "Why are you asking now?"

"I don't know. Just wondering," he said. Silence from Ethan. He didn't expect Ethan to answer, really, so why was he asking? The car felt awkward, and the whole ride was silent. Benny wasn't willing to speak to Ethan at this point because it would feel weird. Frankly, he was scared. Not particularly of the topic that he brought up, but of the possibility that he was dating a criminal – a villain. Even that friend could be a partner in crime. Or maybe they're not. Maybe Benny was just going crazy because he felt like he was.

They reached the parking lot by the park where Benny wanted to drop Ethan off. Ethan unbuckled his seat belt, and said, "Bye. Love you."

"Love you, too." He was so used to saying this. Still, even though he had suspicions, that didn't mean he hated Ethan or felt anything bad except for confusion.

Benny looked at his phone, checking if Erica wrote any update. No, she didn't, but Rory texted him, talking about his horrible morning, his texts filled with emojis. Typical Rory. He'd have to reply to him later.

"Never mind," Ethan said, sighing, and got out. Benny was confused for a second, not realizing what was going on. But then he knew why Ethan had walked away from the car, frowning, not looking back at Benny one more time to smile at him and wave like most times, or even being his energetic self. Benny had fucked up. He didn't kiss Ethan goodbye. It was a habit they had when they separated to go on their own way after a car ride. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but with Benny being distracted, asking questions all of a sudden, and now neglecting normal habits they had as a couple – that all probably made Ethan feel down. He wished he could yell out to Ethan to come back just so he could apologize, but Ethan was already gone out of his site. He was headed to the apartment buildings, and in the crowd of people, Benny lost his boyfriend.

This was the first time in his life that he let Ethan leave him looking unhappy while Benny felt it was his fault.

* * *

 _He hates me. He hates me. He hates me. He hates me. He hates me._

Ethan had never had thoughts like this towards Benny before. Benny was his rock, and he was there for him this whole time. But today felt different. Today felt like a breaking point – one he couldn't return from. Briefly, he closed his eyes just to see his visions. Just to confirm the things he had seen before but was too in denial to believe. Yep. He guessed this was a fixed point for him. They were never supposed to have a peaceful relationship after this. In fact, things will come to an end soon between them. And it wasn't going to end with a gentle break up. It was going to be ugly.

He hated his powers so much. He loved them because they were what made him scary to the public, what made him feel confident. But they were a burden. They ruined his life. They were the reason he was the way he was. Oh, the innocent days. How he missed them. How he missed not feeling this bitterness inside. But he didn't miss the petty guy he once was. He couldn't do shit before. He was stronger now.

Speaking of innocence, he probably should stop his trail of thought. After all, he was going to see his son, and he wanted to be the cheerful, supportive dad he wanted to be. Ethan's life was shit, and that made him concerned about how Daniel's life was going to be, but that didn't mean that he had to witness his father's dark side. Dear God, he didn't want his son to end up like him.

He rang the doorbell to the apartment. He could hear a really feint TV sound. One of the kids' channels was probably on. He smiled. He was always excited to be here. He loved Daniel with all his heart, and Sarah was the sweetest person he could be around these days.

Speaking of Sarah, she opened the door, genuinely looking surprised.

"Ethan," she said in her shock. He heard a gasp from inside. Oh, Daniel.

"Daddy!" exclaimed the child, running towards the door.

"Shhh," Sarah said. "The door's open. People can hear you. You can scream all you want when we get inside."

Daniel nodded, put a finger on his lips, then grabbed his father's hand, bringing him inside. Sarah closed the door, and that was Daniel's cue to speak. "Mommy, you said he'd come tomorrow. You lied."

"I didn't lie," she said, about ready to give her son a lecture.

"Yeah, don't tell her she lied. I didn't tell her I'd come today," he said.

"Okay," Daniel said casually and made Ethan sit down in the living room.

Sarah wasn't always invited to play with them, and that, Ethan had no control over. Besides, Sarah wasn't a particular fan of games. This time, she sat down as if to join them for once. "You wanna play?" asked Daniel, getting jumpy with excitement.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. Can I choose the game?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Can you find the board games?" she asked. Despite the fact that all three of them in the apartment knew the board games were hard to find in the house since they were always lost, Daniel didn't mind as he was just happy to play with both his parents.

"Okay," he said, and scurried to his room to look for the games.

"Poor kid. He's gonna be in there forever," Ethan said.

"I know. I needed him away from hearing range. I need to talk to you," she said, and turned to him. "No offense, I love you, and I love having you here, but what's going on? You never come Saturdays."

"What? Are you worried for me?" he teased her.

"Well, yeah. You may have this whole _evil_ thing going on, but you're still vulnerable, and you're still my best friend." And she was his. He loved Benny, but Sarah was always there for Ethan, despite the fact that she knew his deepest, darkest secrets. In fact, she was the one who knew about him more than anyone else did. She was that loyal and loving. "So, spill."

He guessed he should tell her. He looked at Danny's room to make sure the little child wasn't going to hear them. "Benny's meeting your girlfriend today," he said.

"And?" she asked, knowing there's more. There was always more, and she knew how to read him by now.

"And I know he suspects who I am. It's a matter of time before he finds out." He started fidgeting with his hands, as he did when he was talking about these things to Sarah. "He dropped me off by the park, and…" He sighed. He didn't want to admit it. "It's so hard being around him because I feel like he doesn't love me anymore. He says it, but it feels meaningless."

Sarah looked genuinely concerned for Ethan. "I'm so sorry. I mean, I knew it would happen at one point, but I didn't wish for you to go through this." She extended her arms. "Would you like a hug?"

Ethan shook his head. "I'm good. I guess I just need a break. If you're busy, though, I can-"

"Not busy. Don't worry. You're welcome here any time when I'm not at work. Or if you're willing to babysit," she said. At least he was welcome somewhere.

"Thanks," he said, feeling a bit better now that he said his feelings out loud. He'd feel embarrassed talking about emotions and bad experiences with someone else, but Sarah was different. She made him feel important and loved. Even when Benny would eventually leave him, he knew Sarah was going to be there for him.

Funny. Benny would leave him, and then Ethan would kill him. Maybe that's why. It still didn't seem right, like there's a piece missing. He wouldn't kill just because of a terrible break up. He doesn't even kill at all. Of course, he had killed Jesse Black, but that was out of self-defense.

"There's that face again," she said.

"What face?" he asked, knowing well what she meant. He couldn't help his expressions around her when he was hiding things.

"Ethan," she said, raising her eyebrows.

He didn't plan on telling her anything about his vision. Nothing was confirmed except that he saw a body bag and blood in his hands. And the world seemed to want him to keep it a secret as well because to his luck, Daniel came back, saying, "I found some of them!" Sarah gave Ethan a glance, then put her attention back to their kid, and they started playing.

* * *

Was Benny a traitor for doing this? A traitor to Ethan? He believed this was a valid concern. Problem was: he would be angry at both outcomes. If Ethan was truly the villain Benny speculated he was, then Benny would be angry at his boyfriend for doing these horrible things and lying to Benny for the years they've been together. If Benny turned out to be wrong, he would be mad at himself. Either way, he could tell their relationship was beyond repair. Might as well proceed with talking to Erica if things weren't going to turn out well.

He rang the door bell to Erica Jones's house. It was a small house, but it was one nonetheless. This was something Benny could never afford, but Erica was rich. She was born and raised into a rich family, and she was highly demanded as a lawyer. She was truly a respectable woman. She might be mean to Benny, but he could tell she expressed her affection that way to her friends.

She opened the door, and for the first time, Benny was looking at her in casual clothes. A t-shirt and some tights. It was a weird sight. Even when she hung out with Benny, like in the restaurant the previous night, she'd wear neat, elegant clothes. On top of that, she'd have her hair open, and she'd wear contact lenses. Right now, she had her hair in a ponytail and she wore glasses. He had to admit to himself, she looked pretty either way.

"Don't comment. I look hideous, I know," she said. "Just come in, doofus."

Benny stepped in. "Why do you always assume I want to trash-talk you?" he asked, and made himself at home, sitting on a couch in the surprisingly spacious living room.

"I don't know, actually. I hate you, so I assume you hate me," she said. She went to the kitchen island, grabbed some snacks and some water bottles that she had taken out, then sat down beside Benny. "Shall we start?" she asked.

He nodded. "We shall."

There was a laptop on the coffee table, which she opened, revealing a few documents and sites opened up. Erica began with, "So, I have all the information we've gathered over Vision." _Yeah, thanks to me_ , Benny said, but he didn't say it out loud since Erica would probably try to humble him, which wouldn't work. "Surprisingly, it isn't much. The only thing we could prove is the height. Kinda. We have an estimated range. Besides that, we have some of your observations from your encounters. But I don't care about that right now. I wanna know why you suspect Ethan of all people."

Did she really want to hear this? Yeah, she did. She was a lawyer, so of course she wanted to know. "It's gonna sound stupid."

"I don't care if it sounds stupid. To you, it might, but your gut instincts might be right. Let me hear it," she said. Again, Benny was shocked. Erica was talking to him gently, unlike how she usually did. If she wanted information out of him, she wasn't doing bad.

"Well, my last encounter with Vision, he seemed to know my name. I know he _sees_ stuff. He predicts things, and he can extract information. That much I know. It just felt … weird. I can't explain it. And he said one thing to me. I remember it word by word. ' _You should have a little bit of confidence in yourself, Benny Weir._ ' Then later when I came home, Ethan said the same phrase. I know it sounds stupid, and it could be a coincidence, but what if it isn't?"

Erica was silent at first, nodding at what he said. "Okay, then. It's fine, Benny. We barely know anything about Vision, so if you are right, and you could be, we might have a criminal in our hands." He so badly didn't want his boyfriend to be an immoral, evil villain.

"Question: have you ever been around Ethan at any point when Vision appears?" she asked.

Benny thought about it. "Well, I'm always at work when he attacks, so I guess not." He felt his heart pounding. There was yet another reason to doubt Ethan. He hated the feeling. _Ethan, forgive me._ He loved him so much. He felt like fleeing. He didn't want to be doing this, but now Erica knew how Benny felt, and he usually saw her when she needed his help, so there was no avoiding talking about something as serious as this. Plus, she was his friend. Even if Benny stops doubting Ethan, Erica might not. She'd always been determined to be the best at her job, which included catching Vision. Until she eliminated Ethan as a suspect, she might not rest.

"Damn," Erica said. "Vision's the only person who's left me actually clueless. I wish he was a bit clumsier. He's smart, that's for damn sure. Which lines up with your theory. You've always said Ethan's smart, and when I met him, I can tell he's a clever guy. He was avoiding questions, though, and diverting them, but not frequently enough, so I didn't catch that immediately."

Benny bit his lower lip. "Do you want Ethan to be Vision? I mean, it's a fucked up question, but I'm curious."

Erica huffed. "Not sure. Obviously, you're my friend, and the last thing I want is to ruin your relationship. On that note, I don't want him to be Vision."

"But…"

"But I'd like to catch Vision as soon as possible. He's been a threat for far too long. How long has it been? About five years?"

Benny nodded. "Four years, almost five. And I've been out there for six years. I've never had anyone as difficult as Vision to deal with."

Erica whistled. "Four years is a long ass time." She laughed. "It's funny. Jesse Black started out as the scariest, most wanted villain in Whitechapel. All of a sudden, Vision comes along as his partner-in-crime. Jesse is stabbed in his house, and Vision turns out to be even worse than Jesse Black. What a rollercoaster." Of course, no one knew it was Jesse who was the villain they wanted to catch all this time, but it was revealed to them during the time of his death.

Benny shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. "Yeah, I hate Vision with a passion. And I hate myself for doing this."

Erica looked down at her documents, her expression not sympathetic, but focused. "Sorry, I know you're thinking about life and all, but is Ethan within the height range?"

Benny looked at the computer. Of course, he remembered the height range. Sometimes, he'd just look at it since it was the only solid thing they had about Vision, other than the fact that Vision was probably young. Still, he looked at the computer to make sure. "Sadly, yes."

Erica sighed. "Well, we don't have much to go by. We can't prove anything yet, and this could be all a coincidence. But to make sure, I need you to do something for me. Either find out something about Ethan, or something about Vision. As I recall, you said Ethan's very secretive about his past, right?" she asked, to which Benny nodded. "Red flag!" She closed the computer and continued, "I know it'll be hard since he doesn't open up to you, but maybe even the smallest detail might help. In case that doesn't work, there's always Vision to face. He … or she, probably a he, though, is a pain in the ass, but try to get something out of him. He plays games a lot with you? Play along."

Benny frowned. This was going to be hard. "Easier said than done. But I'll try."

Erica smiled. "Great. I guess we're done for today. Are you gonna get back to Ethan?"

Benny shook his head. "I can't face him right now. Besides, he's at his friend's house. He'll probably eat there. Don't think he wants to see me, either."

"Really? Why?" Erica asked, genuinely looking worried for Benny.

"I don't think I'm acting like my usual self around him. I feel so stupid. I even asked about the friend, and he was quiet the whole time. At this rate, I might not even have a boyfriend by the end of this," Benny said.

"Things will be all right. I hope. Just don't act fishy. If he's really who we think he is, he might already know we're on to him. And if he knows what you're up to, and keeps hiding secrets, then don't feel bad about not being with him. He wouldn't be right for you, anyway." Again, easier said than done. So much for proposing to him. "And if he's an innocent guy, then we don't want you losing him over something like this."

"Okay, then," he agreed. He should probably do something to take his mind off of things for now. "I guess I'll leave you alone. Try not to miss me too much," he joked, but it was hard to be cheerful at the moment. Still, his life was filled with negative things, and his mission was to make people happy – either by lame jokes or by helping out Whitechapel residents under an alias.

"You wish," she said.

With that, the two said their goodbyes. Maybe Benny should around Rory now, if he wasn't caught up in something. He could use some smiles and happiness. Even though Rory was kind of an idiot, he was a kind guy, and he was the first friend Benny had when he got this job.

Luckily for Benny, Rory turned out to be off duty, which was great. The two ate lunch together, and that made the mood for Benny less gloomy. Still, that didn't mean he didn't look gloomy, apparently. "You okay? You seem down, more than usual."

It was best that Benny doesn't tell Rory what's happening. Sure, the officer knew about Benny's secret, but this situation didn't need to spread to every person he knew. He wasn't really sure if his theory was right or not. "Just relationship problems. I can deal with it."

Rory seemed to be thinking about this for a bit. "Is that why you're hanging out with me in a weekend?"

Benny was tired and didn't want to answer this question as it would need some explanation. "Yep." That wasn't the sole reason, but he guessed he wasn't lying about it.

"You two seem great together. Things will work out well."

"Yep."

If Rory didn't get the hint that Benny was tired, he did now. "Sorry. I'm bothering you."

"It's okay," he said. He switched the topic to something less exhausting, which by the time he decided to go back to the apartment, made him feel a bit better, even if it was weird coming back early on a Saturday. The strangeness of this all made Benny realize how distant he was with his boyfriend today. He felt like an asshole. Great.

As he guessed, Ethan wasn't there. He was probably having a blast with his friend, whoever she was. Subconsciously, he hated this girl. He wished she wasn't in Ethan's life so Benny didn't have to feel lonely at times. But that was such a selfish thought for Benny, and it felt petty.

To get his mind off things, he realized he needed to do the much-dreaded work. For him, that meant collecting and analyzing data. He liked that, but sometimes it felt like a chore, which, for today, sounded perfect as a distraction. It worked for a second before he realized that Vision was always going to be tied to his life, especially in his job. Benny pretty much dealt with criminals, and Vision was the most mysterious one of them all. Maybe he wasn't so mysterious, after all. Maybe he'd been hiding under Benny's nose for two years. Either way, what a prick.

After an hour and a half, Ethan walked through the door, mostly looking at his phone. "Hi," he mumbled. There was a hint of a smile on his face, as there usually was when he got back from being around his friend.

Benny tried not to let his emotions show. After all, Ethan was still his boyfriend. "Hey, E. Did you have fun?" he asked.

Ethan looked up from his phone and pocketed it. "Yeah, I guess. Did you?"

Benny shrugged. "Eh. Not really." _He might know what I've been up to. Maybe he knows what I'm thinking. Shit, why do I have to think this way? We still didn't confirm if it is him!_

"Okay," Ethan said in a low voice and walked to the room. It was so weird. He'd normally feign interest in what Benny was doing, kiss him, then go to the room. Why does it feel like the sparks were gone now? Like things didn't feel right anymore? Well, maybe because Benny was being an ass in the morning, and _Ethan had anxiety_. What was Benny thinking would happen?

After around ten minutes, Ethan came out in sweatpants and a comfortable shirt, his tablet in his hand. He sat down beside Benny, like always, which made Benny feel like maybe this relationship wasn't a crap one, after all. "How was your day, beautiful?"

Things seemed to be all right now, as Ethan was silent for a while after hearing the word beautiful. He punched Benny lightly in the arm. "Out of all the pet names, you keep calling me that?"

"Well, you're not a pet," Benny said, grinning.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "That joke is lame, and you know it."

"No, it was great. My humor's amazing," he said. Things felt like they were okay, but he knew things might not stay the same. He kissed Ethan's cheek, who was opening his art program.

Ethan eyed Benny. "You know, you could warn me before you kiss me anywhere. I'm gonna draw, and if I mess up, I'm blaming it on you."

Benny smiled, knowing he should listen to Ethan so he wouldn't be pissed. To be fair, a lot of times, he was gentle with him. He wasn't as careful as he used to be before, though. He remembered first meeting Ethan, who was sort of unapproachable two years ago.

 _Benny had always known he was gay, but the problem was, there was no place made specifically for men to meet each other in Whitechapel. But, there was a bar he had been to that gays frequented. Last time he had gone there, he had a one-night stand with a random guy while drunk, and that didn't work out well. But he knew genuine relationships could come out of this, so he decided to give this a try again. He was probably crazy for doing this after failing to get good results the first time, but he was an irrational guy, and he admitted it. Plus, where would he meet guys willing to date him?_

 _There, he saw Ethan, who was sitting alone, drinking. It was sad to watch, and at the time, Benny thought he could make a move on Ethan. He tried, and his hand brushed against Ethan's shoulder without his realization, which made the shorter man jump in his seat. When he looked at Benny, he gave a one second stare, and then went back to looking at his drink. "Not interested," he mumbled. He looked annoyed, and he even gave Benny side-eyes. Geez, Benny didn't know what was up with this guy. If he was uncomfortable or even mad, Benny should probably not be around him._

" _Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to bother you," he said, standing up to leave, but Ethan took a hold of his arm, and sat him back down._

" _You know what? I change my mind," he said. "Guess I'll give you a shot."_

 _Benny was confused. It felt strange that he just changed his mind in a matter of seconds. "Why?"_

" _Are you really gonna complain?" Ethan asked._

" _Not really. Just curious," Benny said._

 _Ethan drink a bit of his beer, and by 'a bit', Benny meant a lot. "Whitechapel guys are the worst. None of them apologize for being jackasses. At least you have some decency."_

 _That night, they slept together in Benny's apartment. When he woke up and saw Ethan sleeping, he looked like an angel. He knew he clicked with him, even though they spoke only for a bit. So, they gave the relationship a chance. Up until the second date, Ethan was still unappreciative of sudden touches, which Benny tried to avoid._

Benny never asked what caused Ethan to be jumpy to physical contact. He knew it was a sensitive subject, so he didn't talk about it. But he always speculated it could be abuse, or assault. If he was Vision, could this be why he chose this path in life?

"E, can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"Sure, but I can't guarantee I'll answer it," he said.

Well, he never answered before, so why did Benny feel bummed now? "Did someone hurt you before you met me?"

Nothing. Ethan stopped drawing for a second, then continued. If it was a no, he would have said so. Most likely, the answer was yes. "Who was it?"

Ethan put his tablet pen down. He looked at Benny with a seriousness he's never witnessed before. "Why do you care about me all of a sudden?"

Involuntarily, his body forced him to sit up straight. He was definitely shocked by Ethan's behavior. "I'm your boyfriend. That's why I care."

"Are you sure? Because it feels like you're interrogating me," Ethan said.

Benny should probably stop asking questions. Not only would it be useless, but it would probably feed into Ethan's anger. "Jesus, I'm sorry," he mumbled. He looked away, sitting silently with his thoughts before he got up to get himself some water. He needed to get up and … not look at Ethan, basically. He didn't know how to deal with this side of him. And he guessed Ethan had the right to be mad. Benny was acting strange all of a sudden. But it definitely broke Benny heart when he heard Ethan doubting how much Benny cared for him. Was Benny really that bad of a boyfriend? Whatever. He should go to the room and continue his work there.

He tried to do that, but not only were thoughts of Vision resurfacing, but he couldn't handle seeing Ethan this pissed off for the first time. He wasn't the type to run away from his problems, but today was definitely too much. Did he fuck up again? Was he ruining the one good romantic relationship he ever had, just because Ethan _might_ have gone through abuse? It was an important thing to tell your partner, but if Ethan did have an abusive person in his life, it probably was traumatizing. He should know that as a criminal researcher who is involved in cases which included these kinds of crimes like abuse.

He didn't expect Ethan to come to him, yet he did. He was apologetic, and even though Benny whole-heartedly forgave him, he felt that their relationship wasn't going to be the same again, even if Ethan turned out to be innocent. Benny just had to hope things will go well.

* * *

 **That had a lot of POV shifting in there, but it felt right to me.**

 **Well, of course, I revealed a few things, but there is soooo much more. I can't wait!**

 **As always, leave your feedback, please. And tell me if you're adding something to your theory or changing it up. I loooove hearing from you.**

 **Until next time**!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello!**

 **Sorry I took so long to update. Been busy with uni shit. I'm dying inside, but I managed to get this through, I guess.**

 **Um, so I just wanna start. Let's begin! Enjoy!**

* * *

Sunday was family-and-friends' day to Ethan. Saturdays, unlike the recent one, were usually reserved for Benny. But he supposed Sunday were much more relaxed. He'd go see Sarah and Danny, spend maybe an hour with them, then they'd bring Danny to see his grandparents and extended family. They'd alternate between going to see Sarah's family and Ethan's. After that, Sundays tended to be a bit more unpredictable. He'd sometimes do some Vision tasks, or maybe spend some time with Jane if she wasn't busy with college work, or sometimes he'd have some alone time. It really depended on his mood.

Benny also spent time with his family, though mostly with his father. That was unless he wasn't interrupted by villains disturbing the city's peace. The police station would face superhuman-related emergencies, which could restrict Benny's weekends sometimes, but so far, nothing too drastic was happening in Whitechapel.

After preparing himself for the day and dressing up decently, Ethan went to the living room, kissed a sleepy Benny goodbye, then left. The first half of the day went as planned. Ethan had seen his son, then they spent time in the Morgans' house as they'd been to the Foxes' last week. Though, Sarah did come along. Ethan did the same when they'd see her parents. It was better for Danny, anyway, to have both his parents together in places outside the apartment.

When they went to Ethan's parents' house, Jane was there, so Danny had a lot of fun playing with his aunt. They spent lunch with the Morgans, and by the end of it, Jane needed to go back to her roommate, and Danny had felt tired and needed a nap.

"You coming?" Sarah asked as she got up.

Ethan shook his head. He was standing up to leave, but if his boy wanted to sleep, he wasn't going to come along. He should go elsewhere. He didn't want to be a burden. "I'm good."

She nodded, understanding. She could read him like a book, and how he wished she couldn't. "Well, thanks for having us, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan."

"No problem, Sarah," said Samantha. She looked at her grandchild, smiling. Ethan could tell she adored him. "Bye-bye, Daniel."

"Bye-bye," he said, his eyes struggling to stay open, earning a chuckle from his grandmother.

Ethan said his goodbye, and kissed his mother on the cheek, then gave a brief hug to his father. After that, he was off. Sarah and Daniel had gone to Sarah's apartment while Ethan spent his time aimlessly walking in the neighborhood, trying to think of something to do.

 _Well_ , he thought, _when in doubt, plan something evil out_. He didn't have his _Vision_ clothes with him as he wasn't a psychopath who carried his evil stuff with him wherever he goes, he thought. Well, actually, he guessed by definition, he was most probably a psychopath. But who liked admitting that?

First thing Ethan wanted to do was deal with Malcolm Bruner. Not only did he hate looking at the guy, but he was making no progress with him. Probably because he was stressing himself out too much. But to even deal with Malcolm, Ethan needed to be in his disguise. He wouldn't let Bruner know his identity or else he'd tell the cops, and if the gang members were there, that was even more of a reason to be careful.

So, Ethan returned to the apartment, which Benny was not in, thankfully, and he grabbed his black pile of clothes and stuffed them in his backpack. He went back to his base of operation, feeling at home now. He had just been home with his parents, but he was hiding behind curtains of lies there. None of his family knew of his secret identity, and he wasn't planning on telling them. Ever. His mother would have a heart attack, his father might hate him forever, and Jane wouldn't want to talk to Ethan ever again. He didn't even want to think about Danny's reaction. It would be too much to handle.

Now under his mask and black clothes, Vision went to check how Malcolm was. There was one man inside the room Malcolm was in who was there to give Malcolm food. Vision dismissed him from the room, and the man, who was probably about to shit his pants from fear, was glad to leave the room with Vision in it. Well, he didn't know that for sure, but he could guess.

Malcolm, who used to shake in fear when Vision entered the room, was now just looking blankly at the ground. He was broken. His vulnerability could be used to Vision's advantage, but Vision didn't want to experiment on someone weak. How else was he supposed to test himself?

"Bruner," he said, earning no reaction, though he could tell Malcolm could hear him as he didn't seem to be ignoring Vision. He just seemed tired – mentally tired. "This might be your happiest day here. I'll release you."

This seemed to get a response from him. He looked up, his bloody lips parted. "You're letting me go? Why?" he asked.

"Are you really in a position to ask me this question?" he asked. "If you must know, it's not out of the kindness of my own heart. I don't sympathize with you. I'm doing this because you're no use to me anymore."

Malcolm didn't care. He just seemed to be glad to leave, though he wasn't fully relaxed. "What's the trick? There's always a trick with you, isn't there?"

Vision shook his head. "No tricks." Not really. "Just terms."

"Terms? What terms?" he asked.

Vision smiled, though no one ever knew when he smiled. His face was concealed. "Speak of this to anyone, and I won't hesitate to torture you again. You might think the law will protect you, but let's not forget that I can see the unseen. I can see the future. I can escape the law, and I can get you again." Well, even though he can see the future, he can tell that even if Malcolm ratted him out, which was unlikely at this point, and Vision wanted to capture him, it was going to be harder. There would be more security around him, but that didn't mean the task with impossible.

"Fine, fine. Just get me out of here," he said. He was desperate, as anyone would be in his position.

Vision headed outside to see the man. "Release him," he said. "But before that, call Simons. I need him for something." The only reason he had memorized this name was because he knew he was going to execute his next plan soon. Only this guy could do it well. And with Benny being suspicious, this had to be done.

* * *

"Rise and shine, princess," Erica said over the phone. Why did she have to call Benny that? Whatever. He wasn't in a position to argue. "Found anything?"

"Nope. The moment I tried to ask about his past, he got pissed off that I _just_ started to care about it," Benny replied. A part of him was unhappy with Ethan about this reaction because it might confirm that Ethan could be Benny's arch nemesis, but a part of him just felt sad.

"Yikes. Feels like I just stepped into a couple's problem," Erica said. "Either way, if he has a fucked-up past, I don't really blame him for how he reacted. Too bad we don't know anyone who was in his life before. We could've asked them about what happened to him."

"True," Benny said. "Anyway, I don't blame Ethan, either. And to be fair, I've never pried into Ethan's life before because I thought it might be too sensitive to talk about, so it might have come off as me not caring about him." Maybe he was just a lousy boyfriend. He could tell that Ethan didn't want to be around him as much as he used to before. With how Benny was treating him, of course he wouldn't.

"What did I tell you, Benny? Don't let this come between you and Ethan! What if we find out he's totally innocent? Heck, maybe he's a victim of Vision's and we wouldn't even know! All this tension would be for nothing."

She was right, as always. Benny was acting way too weird. He was supposed to still be there for Ethan. Maybe Ethan felt lonely now. Benny didn't know, and he shouldn't subject him to this torture.

Though one statement Erica said made a lightbulb turn on in Benny's head. If only they knew someone from Ethan's past. "I just got an idea!"

"Oh, no," Erica said. "Tell me so I can reject it."

She might not hate this idea, actually. "Ethan's parents – they know Ethan, or at least enough about Ethan. I can ask them about any of Ethan old friends or acquaintances. Something along those lines."

"Wow," Erica said. "That wasn't as stupid as I thought it would be. Good job, Weir."

"A compliment?" Benny asked, amused. "I'll take it."

"Whatever, dork. Just do whatever you gotta do. Asking his parents is a good idea. Just don't let them bring it up to Ethan. Just figure it out. You're not dumb."

They both agreed to this, and when the phone call was over, Benny decided it was best to distract himself and go see his father now. Ethan was probably at his parents' this early, so it was best to avoid going to the Morgan's until perhaps evening. He was sure Ethan would be gone by then.

Seeing his dad was a good distraction, indeed. Not only did he love spending time with his dad, but he could just forget about villains, about Vision, and all the bad people in the world. He could just focus on his father's talk about hockey, 'being a real man', and general masculine talk. Benny was nothing like his father. He was definitely more masculine than Ethan and he can handle his father's talk pretty well, but his dad was way too straight compared to Benny.

Speaking of being distracted from villains, his phone gave an alert. A villain attacked. No, it probably wasn't Vision. He hoped. It wasn't like Vision to attack on weekends, anyway. Even villains needed a break.

"Something wrong?" his dad asked.

"They need me for work," he lied. "Something came up." It was better for his dad not to know about Wizard. Only his grandmother knew from his family, and hopefully, things will stay that way for a long time.

"Be safe," his father said as Benny left. Wait, did he know? Oh, he was stupid. His job was with the police, so they were investigating criminals and villains every day. _Of course_ his dad would tell him to be safe.

"Will do," he said.

He wanted badly to teleport to his apartment, but his damn car was outside. He needed to drive it back. So, he took the long way back, suited up, then went to fight the villain. It took longer than he thought, but the guy he was against was arrested eventually. His hands were cuffed by no ordinary cuffs, but by ones that so clearly contained a piece of green stone. Vision wasn't the only thing that could stop Wizard from using his powers. This stone was kind of like the kryptonite of superhumans. Except it did nothing but stop them from using their powers. They were like ordinary humans around this stone. It kind of bothered Benny that it even exists, but it was better that it does. How would supervillains settle in prison, then?

He spotted Rory amongst the cops, who came up to him, gave a high five like the optimistic dork he was. "Hey, don't you _not_ work weekends?" he asked the cop.

"Oh, I don't," Rory said. "I was near this area, so I just came to help." Rory was too nice. He was truly a good cop, and he was surprisingly strong for a scrawny dude. "Dude, you wanna hang out after this?" He was not hesitant to even hide the fact that he knew the man under the suit, and thankfully, not many cops were around at that point to listen in on their conversation.

"Actually, I gotta do something now. Rain check?" he asked.

"Sure," Rory said. "Good luck, Wizard."

"Thanks," he said, and left, trying his best not to get distracted by the excited kids. Whenever he appeared, they crowded around him after all the chaos was over. They were always around, happy to see their hero succeed. He hated being a hero. It was a lot of pressure for him, and people expected way more than what he could offer.

By now, when Benny had returned home in his normal clothes, it was evening. He could probably go now to see Samantha and Ross. And so he went, already exhausted from the day's work. Upon seeing him, though, Ethan's parents smiled and let him in, Samantha being the most excited. Ross was always calm, but Benny knew Ethan's dorkiness came from his father.

"What brings you here?" asked Samantha. "I mean, it's nice to have you here, but it's weird that you didn't come with Ethan."

"Yeah, well, I wanted to talk to you alone. It's about Ethan," Benny said.

"Oh, no. Did something happen to him? Did the police send you here?" she asked.

Ross put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax. I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah, he's totally fine," Benny said. "I just wanted to ask you something." How was he supposed to approach this? He'd probably sound like a coward who didn't want to confront his boyfriend either way. There was no easy way to ask his question. His parents might hate Benny now after trying to pry into Ethan's life, but he was desperate. Not too desperate, but desperate enough to want some information. "Ethan hasn't been open to me. That's what I've noticed. I admit, I'm not the best boyfriend, and I haven't tried hard to communicate about this with him, but I feel like he's trying to avoid talking about his past. It's sensitive to him. That much I know. But I need to know _something_ about him. And I guess my question is: is there any old friend of his that I can talk to?" That kind of sounded way worse out loud than in his head.

Samantha looked at Ross as if she was consulting him with her eyes. Ross spoke up. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell you. I know he's very secretive, and I do agree that he needs to talk to you about what happened before, but if he didn't mention any of his friends to you, I don't think we have the right to, either." Well, there went his chance to know something. "You need to talk about this with him. Encourage him to tell you. We tried with him, but he's never willing. Maybe if you keep talking about this every once in a while, he'll be comfortable enough to open up." Yeah, Benny doubted Ethan would open up if he had a villainous past. This was time wasted.

"Okay," he said, feeling his heart sink a little. "Thanks. I'll try to talk to him." He won't. He knew himself too well.

His phone rang. Erica was calling. "I gotta go. This is probably work-related." Work was always his excuse. But in a way, he was telling the truth. He got up, said a quick goodbye, and answered the call on his way out. "Hello?"

"Benny, get your ass here _right now_! _Malcolm came back_."

"Oh, my God," he said, legitimately surprised. "I'm on my way."

After ending the call, he didn't bother getting his car, which was actually back in the apartment building's parking, but that was better for him. He just teleported from alley to alley, then walked into the station.

He found Erica there, talking to Rory, who, for the first time, looked worried. "Jones," Benny said.

"You're here," she said, a bit relieved. "Thank God you're here. I was just told about this, but apparently, Bruner showed up an hour ago. He's answering questions now, but he's silent, just like his father was when he re-appeared."

"I bet you it's goddamn Vision," Benny said.

A passing police officer said, "No doubt," he said. "You should've seen Bruner. When Officer Paul mentioned Vision, he froze up."

"Is there anything else?" Erica asked. She seemed anxious. Maybe because she needed to get through so many legal issues that Benny didn't quite understand. "Is the report coming?"

"The report might come tomorrow," Rory answered this time. The officer nodded and walked away. "Though Bruner's not in good shape. He had dried blood all over, and bruises in some places. He had a limp, too."

That was way worse than what they'd witnessed before. "How about mentally? Did you hear something about his mental state?"

"Not much," Rory said. "Just that he's probably traumatized."

They talked for a bit about this before Erica was called to the room Malcolm was in since she was the attorney for this Bruners in their case. Benny turned to Rory, who was too distracted looking at the door of the interrogation room. He'd never been like this. But how would Benny expect him to be his usual self? This was a stressful case, and people were scared.

* * *

Benny had returned back to the apartment, tired. It didn't help that he had to teleport, which sucked his energy from him a bit. But it wasn't as bad as driving tired.

Ethan was on the couch, drawing on his tablet, a blanket covering his legs. The TV was turned on as background noise. Benny just cared for some comfort, which could be provided by Ethan and the couch. So, he threw himself beside Ethan, resting his head on Ethan's shoulder. His eyes were half-lidded, but he could see Ethan's drawing. It was an outline of a comic-style woman in a cape. Ethan was working on his arm pose currently along with the background. It looked nice, Benny thought. Ethan was very talented.

"You look tired," Ethan said, brushing Benny's hairs away from his face. The tired male scooted even closer towards his boyfriend, nodding. "I saw on TV that there was a villain out there. Doubt that's what made you tired. What happened?" he asked, kissing Benny on the head.

Why was Ethan so good at making Benny feel comforted and relaxed? "Police stuff happened, and I had to be involved." Benny didn't usually bring work discussions back home. This was supposed to be a stress-free zone. So, mentioning that he was involved with many cases, such as the Bruners case, was stressful – not to mention pointless. If Ethan was innocent, he didn't need to know the details. If he wasn't, then he already knew some information. Benny didn't care right now, and he didn't want to.

"Well, you can relax now." He put his tablet down. "Want some coffee? I'm feeling coffee."

Benny shook his head and pulled it away so Ethan could get up. "No, I'm good."

Ethan had gone to the kitchen, then he took out his mug to make coffee. Benny, meanwhile, went through the TV channels. Classic movies? Not in the mood for them. Action? Too much for him now. Talk shows? Not his thing. News? He wanted to refuse them, but when he landed on the news channel, his phone gave an alert again. Vision attack. It was happening right now. He looked from the TV to Ethan, then back to the TV. The moment to him kind of felt comical.

"Gotta go," he said, not feeling like hurting his brain over this.

"Where?" Ethan asked, seeming startled.

"Wizard stuff," he said, and for the second time, he put the suit on, but before he could put his mouth-and-nose mask on, he kissed Ethan on the cheek. "I'll try to make it for dinner."

They usually had dinner in thirty minutes from now, but with Vision, and the police being around him, Benny never finished early. "Love you!" he said, which Ethan said back to him. Then when Benny was fully ready with his suit, he teleported. Though he was skeptical. Who was under the mask?

Some encounters with Vision were full of mocking commentary from Vision's end, and sometimes he was there just to steal something and leave. This case seemed to be the latter. He had gotten a piece of technology from one of the labs, then mysteriously left as he always did. Benny, as always, was too late to stop him. The cops have come again, probably tired of Wizard's presence by now because he always appeared where there's superhuman trouble. He was tired of Wizard himself. The police asked a few questions, examined the place, and did whatever cops did, then Benny left.

Ethan, in the apartment, was back on the couch. Benny smelled something nice from the kitchen. Ethan probably went to make something while Benny was gone. "I'm tired," Benny said. "Today was shit. Really hope it's over," he said, using his powers to change in the blink of an eye. Everything today was so fast-paced. It was exhausting.

"I know," Ethan said, patting the spot next to him. Benny didn't need to be told to sit down. He was already on his way to doing so. "You did great today, if it makes you feel better."

"Yeah, it does," he said. Even though Benny as even more confused now than ever, he thought he ought to be happy. This was either another man in the suit, or it was truly _the Vision_. He preferred to believe the latter, but for the sake of the concerns he has with Erica, he needed to still be on guard.

Still, this might mean Ethan was innocent. His Ethan might not be a criminal, after all. "What are we having?"

The rest of the day was well-deserved for Benny. He ate dinner with Ethan, watched Ethan draw, then they went to the bed. And, needless to say, Benny had fun in bed. It was one of those days that slapped you in the face multiple times, but Benny was good at numbing that out. It was worth it to be around Ethan at the end. Even though Benny still had his doubts, he needed to be a boyfriend, not an enemy.

He had work the next day, so he couldn't stay up for very long. So, he closed his eyes, trying to find his peace in his sleep. How he wished these past few days didn't happen. He didn't want to lose the love of his life.

He really hoped he was wrong, and Ethan was innocent. Benny really wanted him to be innocent.

* * *

 **So, stuff happened. Dunno what else to add. Except that I hope you enjoyed reading. I reeeeaaaally had fun writing. Legit, evilness is fun to write.**

 **As usual, please leave your feedback. I'd love to hear from you guys. Trash talk me, if you want. Don't really care. I just love reading what you guys write about my chapters.**

 **Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, all!**

 **Love that you guys are enjoying my stories. Just a heads up: I'm not gonna be updating The Wind that Passed by. Like, at all. I don't feel like writing that story. That being said, all the others, I'm still into.**

 **Without further ado, let's begin.**

* * *

The first thing Benny needed to do was see Erica on Monday morning. Not only did he need to talk to her about what had happened yesterday, but he also needed to see her for work reasons. After all, he was still a researcher, and he did help Erica with her cases.

He greeted the security guard, who was used to him being there by now. Then, he headed to the elevators and went up to Erica's floor. The moment she had seen him by her office, she let him in. Closing the door behind him, he noticed that, unlike last time, she was alone. She motioned towards the chair in front of her desk, which Benny was already heading to sit on.

"Okay, something's up. I can tell," she said. "Spill." She crossed her legs on her chair and leaned back comfortably. Although, Benny could tell she was anything but comfortable. Who would be in this town of chaos?

"Yesterday, you saw the news, right? Vision attacked. But Ethan – he was with me in the apartment when that happened," he said, pausing to let he process this.

"Okay," she said hesitantly, not seeming sure what else to say.

"Does that mean he's all clear?" He knew what he was doing, though. He was seeking validation. He was scared. He didn't want his boyfriend to be a villain. Even though there was evidence he might not be, but there was still that nagging at the back of his brain, telling him that something wasn't right about the situation.

"I don't know," Erica said. "On the one hand, yeah, you could be right. If that _was_ Vision, then he's okay. On the other, Vision doesn't usually come out at night. That could easily be something he planned to throw us off." She shrugged. So, Erica noticed it, too. Benny knew something was off, but now that Erica put it into words, it made a bit of sense. That still left them with a fifty-fifty chance that Ethan was a villain. That didn't help or narrow down _anything_.

"You're right," Benny said. "Damn, I wish I could know about Ethan more." If Ethan really cared about Benny and their relationship, he'd share a bit of his past, even if a bit. But no – Ethan never shared anything about his life. _No_ , he thought. Ethan cared. Their relationship – it had to be real. It felt real. Ethan did nice things to Benny indirectly. And the way he looked at Benny – it was filled with love. Benny didn't doubt that Ethan loved him.

"I think you're trying too hard with Ethan," Erica said. "Give _that_ up. Try to focus on Vision. Try to get something from him. Don't ruin your relationship over something you're not even sure of."

"Like what? Have you ever been in the same room with that son of a bitch? He just likes playing mind games," Benny said. Maybe this was a mind game that Vision played on Benny. Maybe Benny was supposed to doubt everything and ruin his life. He really needed to stop. His life _was_ ruined. There wasn't a lot of affection with Ethan recently, and that was Benny's fault.

He almost laughed at himself. His thoughts these days usually went from " _oh Ethan's definitely bad_ " to " _no but he's a good person_ " very quickly. And he hated himself for thinking this way. Trust issues will be the downfall for him.

"Get simple things from him. Maybe features, or heck, even gender. We're not even sure Vision's a guy. We're just assuming. I mean, face mask? Voice filter? Not-very-tight clothes? Could be anything for all we know," she said, sounding a bit frustrated. Even Erica was stressed out from Vision.

"That's still really hard," he said.

Erica nodded. "I know. But you chose this life. You're a superhero. You want to protect Whitechapel? Do it."

Benny sat down for a few seconds in contemplation. That was true. And this was his job. Well, it was both his day job _and_ his secret-ish job. Just then, his phone buzzed. He took a look at the notifications. It was Ethan. He just sent a photo. Excusing himself to look at his phone, Benny opened the picture, curious as to what Ethan was sending. Could it be that he knew what Benny was up to? And that this was a threat?

No, apparently not. It was a picture of their kitchen with eggs, flour, sugar, and other baking ingredients. Benny, being used to baking, thanks to his grandmother's lessons, could roughly tell what Ethan was trying to make. A cake? Or maybe some weird savory food that had dessert ingredients? Ethan never did anything sweet. The caption Ethan put under the picture was " _I'm gonna do it YOU CAN'T STOP ME_." Benny chuckled a bit, and sent to him a text. " _Ok, but if the flour runs out when I get home, you're in BIIIIG trouble_."

He heard typing and clicking from Erica's computer, but he didn't look up. In a few seconds, he received a message from Ethan. " _Oh, yeah? You'll punish me, Daddy?_ " With a bunch of emojis that indicated that Ethan was just joking around. He didn't typically dirty talk. Still, that almost made Benny choke.

At least Benny could laugh at what Ethan sent. He wasn't completely heartless or doubtful.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Erica exclaimed. It seemed sudden to Benny. He looked up with saucers for eyes. Erica was on the computer, but Benny couldn't tell what she was doing. He couldn't see the monitor. Did she find something they can get from Vision? Can they finally defeat the villain once and for all?

Benny raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"Well," Erica started. "You know how we keep meeting here?" Okay, so not about Vision. "See, I know it sucks. We should meet here regularly for work reasons, _but_ if we're not in a hurry to discuss _this_ , we should get a more private place. Our conversations can get really personal, and I know you don't want anyone walking in while we're talking about your secrets. So … I should buy an office room. No, better, a studio."

"An office? A studio? Isn't that kind of unnecessary? And excessive?" he asked. "And a waste of money?"

"No, it'll totally be worth it. I know a place that has studios that are cheap, _but_ here's what I'm excited about. We can make that place like our … own superhero team kind of space."

Benny blinked. "Wait, slow down. We're a superhero team now? As far as I know, there's only one superhuman between us."

"So what? I'm like your human sidekick. It'll be awesome. I'm the brain and the muscles, you're just the boy the media likes. Oh, wait, the media likes me, too. Never mind," she said, laughing to herself.

Benny sighed. "Is this some kind of movie fantasy you're trying to live? Cause I don't see how that's practical, like, at all."

"Listen, you gotta trust me. It'll be tech-y and cool, but also a nice place to meet up and chat about private stuff. I know we can always do it at my house, but that's my sanctuary, and we already met up once there. Never again. I'll have bad memories of _working_ at my own house. No, thanks."

Benny shook his head, smiling at her. "Okay, if you say so. But it's only for the two of us?" he asked.

"Well, it doesn't have to be this way, if you don't want it to. If you feel like you need to bring your cop friend, you can. What's his name again, Rory?" she asked.

"Thought you didn't like him," Benny asked with an amused smirk.

"I don't _not like him_. I just hate happy people. Like, come on, you can't be that happy all the time," she said. "But besides that, you can bring him if it's necessary. I think having a police officer on our side is a plus."

Benny agreed. Rory may look like an idiot, but he was a strong man who had a good heart. He'd definitely try to help them, especially since they were on the side of the law and justice.

"By the way," Benny said, deciding to change the subject. "How's the Bruner case going? How's Malcolm Bruner?" he asked.

Erica tightened her lips. "As fine as a guy who's been through some trauma can be. I think he's handling things well. He's a strong guy. But," Erica paused, "he's doing the exact same thing as his father. Whenever he's asked about what happened to him, he's vague. When we ask him about who did this to him, he says he can't tell us or he'll be in trouble." So, he was also threatened. "We told him we'd protect him, but he said nothing can. He's paranoid."

Benny shook his head. "I don't get it. Whether it's Vision or not why would anyone go against the Bruners? They just sell and rent used cars! They're not a big, evil corporation or anything!"

"That may be true, but especially Malcolm Bruner, he's had a bad history with clients. There had been a few lawsuits they had to face because, allegedly, Malcolm Bruner isn't always honest. I mean, he's changed in the past few years, but I'm guessing his past is haunting him now."

Benny wanted to ask how she knew all of this, but she probably _needed_ to know this information for her to be handed the case. She wasn't going to step in blind. Plus, who better than Erica Jones for this mystery?

"I still didn't think the Bruners would be someone's worst enemy. Even if they aren't the most trusted, they don't seem to be the worst people in this town. I mean, it's filled with a lot of fucked up people, and they're not _horrible_ compared to some other people," he pointed out.

"Yeah, that's what puzzled me, too," she said. "But you _are_ going to do a report on this incident, right?" she asked.

Well, it was part of his job. "Yeah, I'll be writing about it and the previous cases. Might take me a while, though. I have a shit ton of research to do, and this one's a bit complicated to write about. Hicks is _not_ letting me have a break. I think he hates me, honestly."

"Okay, just because he gives you a lot to do doesn't mean he hates you. It's just that you're the only one in Whitechapel with this job title," she said.

"Yeah, but he still hates me. I can tell," Benny said. Well, a lot of people didn't like Benny. That was okay, though. Not everyone needed to like him. Heck, some people even didn't like Wizard, calling him _pretentious_ and _reckless_. _All true_ , he thought to himself, amused.

"Anyway, you should get back to your job. Meanwhile, I'll do mine … while looking at some nice places for our superhero meetings," she said.

"Oh, my God," Benny said, already getting up and walking away. "Bye." After she said it back, he was gone back to work. He was already exhausted just thinking about the work ahead, but he had to power through it. What better than to get coffee?

* * *

Ethan knew today was not his day. Whatever he did, he wasn't going to be successful. Any person would ask ' _why bother, then?_ ' If he knew he was going to fail, then why proceed with his plans? Well, if he didn't try, if he didn't practice, he wouldn't get better. His abilities will just be stale. He's able to see into the future, he's able to communicate telepathically, he's able to nullify certain powers, but he knew he could do more. To be fair, Benny was really gullible. He loved the guy, but he always fell into Ethan's traps. Besides, he could work out some things with _Wizard_ better than other so-called heroes.

He closed his eyes. He could see the possibilities of the next few hours. Benny really _was_ determined today. Ethan considered himself mostly undefeated. Today, it seemed Benny wanted that to change. Maybe he's just had enough? Who'd blame him? If Ethan was in his position, he'd be frustrated, too. Good thing he didn't choose to be a good person. What's the fun in that?

And for today, he was going to confirm something to Benny – that Vision was the one responsible for the Bruners' mess. He was nearby a Bruner's Automobiles building now. It wasn't the rental area that Malcolm Bruner usually worked in. It was where the main offices resided. This is where the richer side of the family worked. He didn't particularly hate them as much as he hated Malcolm, but they were still pretty bad and stuck up. Especially Richard Bruner, with his funny way of talking.

So, his plan started. He wasn't there for anything specific. He was just waiting for Wizard to show up. He simply dressed in his suit, and showed up to create some chaos. He first appeared outside the building just to announce his presence. Then, he went inside the building. The security wasn't really good, Ethan thought to himself. Really? They couldn't stop a scrawny guy like him? Within minutes the place was emptied. All that worked here went through the emergency exits. He was alone now. By now, there was probably some social media coverage by some on-lookers. Soon, the news would reach Benny. Also, the police, but they were the least of his worries.

In a few minutes, Wizard reached him. Well, he teleported there. Damn, Ethan wished he had that power. And telekinesis. Basically, Benny's powers were just really cool. Vision couldn't have it all, though. Besides, his powers were already powerful enough.

Wizard crossed his arms. From under the shadow of his hood, Ethan could slightly see Wizard's right eyebrow raised up. "How convenient," Wizard said. "You come here just after Malcolm Bruner appeared. I wonder why."

"Yes, I'm the one who fucked over the Bruners. Just don't beat around the bush, Wizard," he said. "It's annoying me."

"Wow, _I'm_ annoying _you_? Usually, it's the other way around," he said.

"Feeling extra sassy today?" he said, amused. But the amusement wouldn't come across to Wizard at all. Vision's face couldn't be seen, so even when he smiled, Wizard wouldn't know that. The best he could do is adjust his tone.

"No, I'm feeling brave today," Wizard said. Vision knew that. He knew Wizard wasn't scared today.

In front of Wizard, Ethan could see specs of gold forming. They propagated until they reached Ethan's right side, then passed him. Wizard was trying to use his power. Of course, no one can see this gold color. Only Ethan could with his abilities, as far as he knew. He could see what cannot be seen with mere eyes. He didn't know how – he didn't fully understand his powers – but somehow, he can stop the specs that represented Wizard's powers to flow.

This time, things were different. Normally, when Ethan sees Wizard use his abilities, he doesn't let him. But now, he couldn't. It wasn't that he couldn't stop him. He could. But he was distracted by what he'd seen previously in his vision, which he didn't go over every detail, and besides, he wanted to try something out. He wanted Wizard to feel confident enough to use his abilities. Ethan wanted to test something out.

A chair from one of the desks started floating as Wizard, for once, finally managed to use his powers with Vision in the room. "Wait, I can use my powers," Wizard pointed out. The chair dropped, causing a loud thud to spread through the room. "What's the catch? I know you're letting me do this on purpose. You'd never miss a chance to mess with me."

"You're right. I wouldn't," he admitted. He took a step forward. He was going for intimidation. Surprisingly, or maybe not-so-surprisingly, Wizard didn't move. He _was_ brave today. Still, there was something about Wizard's posture and hand movements that gave away just how uneasy he was. He may be brave today, but he was still scared. Good. Vision liked it when people feared him.

"And?" Wizard asked in anticipation.

"And? You can use your powers. No tricks here," he said.

"I don't believe you," Wizard said. This time, _he_ took a step forward. Then another. And another. That was until he was just a few feet away from Vision.

"You have no reason to," he said, " _Weir_." He didn't know why he didn't think before he spoke. He'd teased him about his name before, which he could easily find out even if he didn't know him personally using his powers. However, now, it seemed to fuel a fire inside Wizard. A fire Ethan didn't know burned this much. And since Ethan didn't look deep into this scenario, and he didn't have the time to do so in such a short moment, he saw the gold specs again. This time, they were headed right towards him. Next thing he knew, he was on this ground.

His back hurt _a lot_ since he was flung a bit too hard. Not only that, but his head was starting to hurt. He'd been using his powers for a few minutes, which was enough for his head to suffer the consequences. He needed it to stop. Absent-mindedly, he stopped using his powers for a few seconds. He just felt like he needed a break.

This might have been the start of his demise today, really, because as he got up, Wizard was frozen in his place. At first, Ethan thought it was because he'd pushed him to the ground. Maybe he didn't like violence? But no, that didn't sound like the guy he knew at all. The Benny he knew would be okay with violence as long as the bad guys were caught and not harmed too badly. No, he knew why Wizard was frozen.

If Vision wasn't using his powers, it meant his eyes weren't white all over anymore. He _did_ slip. His eyes, which may not really be a huge deal, were exposed. He knew it wasn't much. Benny couldn't work out a lot with this new information, really. But still, if he slipped up with one thing, he could slip up with others. What was he even saying? He'd slipped up days ago. His clumsiness didn't start this day. This was just another way he'd screwed up. He quickly reverted back to using his powers. He couldn't let this go on further.

"Don't _ever_ bring my personal life into this," he said. Why didn't he say anything? Why didn't he mention the eyes? Maybe he was still processing it. Ethan could easily find out, but he didn't want to. "Or else I'll do something worse to you."

He was going to do something else that's stupid. This time, he was going to see into the near future to know what he could do. And so, he did. It didn't take long – it took a second, but he needed to focus on the task to actually perform it. He couldn't be distracted. That was the key to his powers. "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

Wizard used his powers again. He was getting too comfortable with them. But this time, Ethan didn't let him. He stopped the golden dust-like powers, but he was also trying to do something else. He tried, focusing very hard on his goal. For a second, he could see the specs of gold yielding under his will, but Wizard stopped trying to use his powers, and the specs were gone again. He was so _close_. He knew he could do it. He was powerful enough.

"Fun's over, I guess," he said, his shoulders slacked.

The rest of the encounter went as usual. Vision and Wizard said a few hateful words to each other, and Vision decided to leave at the end with a Wizard who hadn't exactly won the fight. But as he stepped away, he heard Wizard say, "Your days walking in Whitechapel are numbered. I'll catch you one day, and you're going to prison."

He didn't say anything back. He just walked away. But secretly, he was worried. He didn't do well today, and his boyfriend had more proof against Ethan. Things weren't going great.

Also, his back hurt. That wasn't going to stop aching for days.

* * *

Benny felt even worse. He should be happy he got to bring Vision's walls down for a bit, but that wasn't a reason to celebrate now. Vision probably did that on purpose for his own amusement.

And his eyes – Benny could see them clearly. They were brown. Ethan also had brown eyes. This wasn't proof – not by a long shot. Still, he wanted to see different colors – green, blue, grey. He wanted anything but brown. Heck, even light shades of brown were good. Those options would discredit Benny's theory, but that wasn't the case.

Benny wanted to talk to Erica privately. Hey, maybe they did need a secret place for their superhero issues. Erica's office wasn't great for personal discussions, and since it was still noon, Benny couldn't meet Erica elsewhere, such as her house.

He'd settle with a call. As he walked back to work, which was close enough to where he was, he texted her first to know if she was free. When she called, he couldn't help but smile. Even if she acted like she didn't care for Benny, from her little actions, he can tell she was worried for him. She'd still never admit that in a million years.

"You okay?" Erica asked when Benny picked up the phone to greet her.

"No, not really," he admitted.

"Did you get hurt?" she asked.

"Someone's worried," he said, chuckling.

"No, I'm not." Here came the denial. "I was just checking to see if _the only supervillain researcher_ _in Whitechapel_ is okay enough to do his job for me."

"Sure, you were," he said.

"Okay, in all seriousness, what happened?" she asked.

"It was … weird. Vision – he didn't feel right today. He was a bit off. It's bothering me. He admitted it, Erica. He admitted that he's the one behind the Bruner's mess. But that's not the worst part," he said. "He slipped up today. I saw his eyes."

"You did? Wait, so they're not naturally that white?" she asked.

"No," Benny said. "I don't think so. His eyes were brown. Dark brown," he said.

"Really?" she asked. "I'm just really surprised he let you see them."

"That's the thing, I don't think he _let me_ see them. I think it was an accident," he said. "You know, he's usually really confident in himself. He seemed really panicky at that moment."

"Huh," she said. "Weird."

"That's what _I'm_ thinking," he said. "This is bad news, though."

"I know," she said. "We'll deal with this. Just … don't bring those problems back to your apartment. Remember, I'm here to help you. I'm not here to cause unnecessary trouble."

He was getting close to the police department. He'd said goodbye to Erica after a bit, then headed to his desk. He was back to research and reports. At least with those, it was fact-based, unlike his mind, which was just filled with theories at this point.

"Hey, dude," a voice said. Benny didn't need to turn his head to see who it was. He immediately recognized Rory's voice.

"Hey," he said, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Thought you were off-duty today."

"I am," Rory said. "Just wanted to check on you."

"Okay, _mom_ ," he said, finally looking at the blond man.

"You're so mean when I'm trying to be nice," Rory said, looking genuinely offended.

"Rory, that's just my humor!" he said.

"Oh, okay," Rory said, visibly calming down.

"Honestly don't know how you're a cop," he said. "You're a bit young to be one in your position." He kind of knew why, though. He heard Rory was a bit more special than people his age. Not only was he strong, but he was shockingly intelligent and very fit for the job.

"I can't believe you! I came here to check in on you, and you treat me like this?" Rory said.

Benny smiled. "Okay, okay. Take a joke, though. Will you?" he said, to which Rory smiled.

"I was also messing with you!" He laughed a bit to himself.

Even in those dark times, Benny still found himself surrounded by two blondes who managed to make him smile. Speaking of which, he just remembered something. "Rory, can I talk to you privately?" he asked.

Rory nodded, suddenly serious. This might also be a reason he was successful. Rory always took his role seriously.

Benny took Rory outside in an area where he was mostly sure no one was there to listen. "So, Erica Jones – she's already excited to do this – but we might have a … superhero team. We'll work together to catch villains."

"Really? That's awesome! Kinda like superhero movies," Rory said.

"Yeah, and we're mostly focusing on Vision right now, cause, you know, he's my enemy," he said. "She offered that … maybe you can help out, too?" he asked.

Rory, whose face had shown excitement a few seconds ago, frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can join you."

"Oh," Benny said. "That's okay." He was kind of disappointed. He thought Rory would help. But maybe he was too busy. Or heck, maybe he didn't want to – and that was okay.

"Sorry, man, really-"

"It's fine. I'm not hurt by this," he said with a smile.

Rory smiled back, but it didn't have the energy that was so iconically Rory. "Seriously, how are you? I feel like you're not okay."

Benny let out a deep breath. "You're not wrong." He put his hands in his pockets. He didn't feel like looking at Rory at the moment, but he did anyway. "I'm just overwhelmed these past few days. Hopefully I'll be back to my normal self soon. You don't have to worry a lot."

Rory nodded, though his furrowed eyebrows showed concern. "If you say so." His eyebrows relaxed, his eyes lit up. His facial expressions changed in the blink of an eye. "Oh, dude, we can hang out later. I mean, if you're not feeling well, maybe watching a movie will help?"

Benny appreciated the idea, but he couldn't do that. "Sorry, I have work to do. Yes, even after I get off work, I still have work to do. Plus, I think I might wanna spend time with my boyfriend." That was a better idea. Maybe he can feel normal around Ethan again. Yes, he still had his suspicions, but Ethan usually made Benny feel unburdened around the house. Plus, he loved Ethan. And Erica's advice – it was good. He _needed_ to focus on being with Ethan rather than bringing his problems to him.

 _They loved each other_. So why was he self-sabotaging? Why was he ruining his relationship? Well, he knew why, but he still was in love with the brown-eyed male.

He could do this. He could fix everything. He _can_ focus his anger on Vision, _not Ethan_. If he was proven that he was dating a villain, _then_ he can be pissed. In the meantime, he should spend quality time with his significant other.

* * *

Ethan didn't know what happened when Benny returned. He seemed extra happy, affectionate, and energetic. He would look into the past, but he wasn't that much of a creep. He wouldn't invade Benny's privacy like that. Plus, he didn't use his powers for _every single detail_. He'd have migraines for days if he did so.

"Okay, I don't understand what you did. Are those cakes or cookies?" Benny asked with an amused smile as he held up a hard piece of … whatever Ethan tried to cook. It was supposed to be a cake, but they turned out way too hard to be cakes.

"Yeah, mock me, Mr. I-Can-Bake," he said.

"Well, it's true. I can. You can't," Benny said, breaking the piece of cut cake. It made a cracking sound. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Okay, then try to cook steak. Let's see if you'll overcook it a … sixth time?" he asked.

"Fine, we're even now," Benny replied with a laugh. "What are you planning on making today?"

"I'm tired. I don't wanna cook dinner anymore. Maybe we can order pizza?" he asked.

"Hell, yeah. You know I can't resist pizza," he said, already grabbing his phone. "I'm ordering a Hawaiian for myself," Benny said.

"You're gross," Ethan teased.

"And you have no taste," Benny said, dialing a number before ordering their food. He was never the kind of person to use ordering apps. He always loved to talk.

The night was surprisingly nice. They ate, then watched some Netflix as Ethan drew on his tablet. Benny had asked him what this was, and Ethan said that this was a competition entry he was doing, for fun of course. He didn't just draw as a job. He actually enjoyed it. He felt sleepy soon after, and they both headed to bed.

As he had expected, his dreams were restless. But again, the same dream vision came to him, but it was slightly different.

It was dark again. He stood in the middle of the void, looking for anything to happen. He looked at his hands for safe measures. There was no blood. Good. Even though that was the case, he still felt like his hands were dirty. He was going to do dirty things with them, wasn't he? He was reminded of the previous dream. Was he going to kill Benny?

With his hands shaking, he crossed his arms. It was cold. Colder than the last dream vision. He hated this. He was alone and he wanted to get out. _Please let this end quickly. I don't wanna stay here for long_.

That was when he heard the sirens. He turned his head around. An ambulance. There were men there. A dead body. _Benny_? He thought to himself, trying to get closer. No matter how much he walked, the scene would stay the same distance away from him.

He could hear talking, but he couldn't understand it very well. However, he did catch a few words. _Probably a homicide_. _Murdered_. _Dead for a while_.

He felt a pain in his chest and a knot forming in his throat. He didn't want anyone to die. He didn't want Benny to die. Heck, he didn't even want his enemies to die. Not even Malcolm Bruner, who he despised.

The dream didn't last long. When the scene ended, Ethan was awake. Well, he was experiencing sleep paralysis again. He still felt Benny beside him. Maybe it was still nighttime. He decided to let his mind relax so he could get back to sleep – no matter how scary the word _sleep_ was. When he woke up again, he felt a bit better than before, but the vision dream was still fresh in his mind.

He looked out the window. The sun was just about to rise. Benny still hasn't woken up. He snuggled closer to him. He knew Benny would have to get up in a bit, but he wanted to feel warmth now.

If he was going to lose Benny at one point, he wanted to enjoy the days he had with him. But he was scared. No, he was terrified.

He hadn't been this terrified except twice before when he was in college – the time he almost died, and the time his powers had also given him a warning. A warning that he'd become a bad person one day. He didn't believe it then, and he couldn't believe his dreams now. By now, he should know enough to trust his powers.

 _Stay_ , he thought to Benny. _Don't you ever break up with me. Don't you ever die on me_.

If Benny dies, Ethan wouldn't know what to do with himself. He didn't know how crazy he'd become.

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked the chapter.**

 **I'm honestly trying to cram things into the chapters because I just wanna get to the point. You know? I'll try to speed things up – but not too much that everything feels rushed.**

 **Side note: I only ever heard about sleep paralysis before. I got to experience it the first time between writing it previously and now.** _ **My**_ **experience was not that scary, to be honest. I think you can see the influence of my own experience cause once I realized I couldn't do shit when I woke up, I just went back to sleep. I'm so frickin' lazy.**

 **Anyway, I'll leave you guys here.**

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, guys!**

 **Just wanted to let you know that even though I'm updating, my uploading is not going to be consistent (what's new?). Still, I'm doing my internship and straight afterwards I'm back to uni, and I'm not gonna be in a good enough headspace to write much fanfiction. I'll still try!**

 **Also, again, don't know stuff about law. I'm making things up as I go while trying to do research. Forgive me!**

 **Let us begin, now!**

* * *

Benny's desk space felt like it was suffocating him. The dividers weren't closing in on him, but he felt like they were. There was oxygen all around him, but it felt like he couldn't breathe properly. He just felt imprisoned. He wanted to move, he wanted to do something other than work, but he couldn't. Not when there was no emergency.

He was getting too tired looking at the screen, making graphs, typing words, searching the databases. It was all too much for him at the moment. He just wanted to walk and think for a bit. _I have to get this report done_ , he though. _God dammit, Benny, why'd you have to leave the report till now?_

He scrolled until he found the available files for a supervillain. It was one of the more boring cases for a villain, he supposed. But he had to write about them all. There was no other place that had this amount of superhuman activity like Whitechapel, and there was no one with enough patience like Benny to research about them. _Okay, what's important about this shithead?_ Ah, he remembered. Seemingly, the attacks were random, but through their detectives' work, they found out the attacks were targeted towards an ex-boyfriend who she claimed to have "been looking at other women". She was really petty about it, too. That didn't matter, though, because he focused the report on the superpowers along with the investigation.

 _It started with public information – about where and when the attacks happened_ , Benny gathered his thoughts, _then it moved to digging deeper regarding the "where and when"_. Huh. Maybe he should think more like this. Maybe he was approaching things wrong. He was more focused on _who_ rather than the obvious – the places of Vision's attacks and the timings. The information he found out from Vision the other day were very important, too. He didn't know exactly what he'd search for, but he'll try something out.

First, he'll try to finish most of this report. Future Benny would be so grateful if Current Benny left him like only two pages to write instead of ten. It also helped that Hicks would check on Benny every once in a while to see that he's progressing and not messing around. Benny may not particularly like Hicks, but to be fair, the man was suffering from Benny and his constant absence.

Soon enough, with the help of lots of coffee, Benny found himself past his goal for today. A good day of progress for him, indeed. Maybe now his focus could be on his superhero task. And he needed Erica's help.

He didn't know anything about Vision. He didn't know anything about Ethan's past. He did, however, know there exists a bad relationship between Vision and the Bruners. The Bruners had a lot of legal issues before they changed their company policies a few years ago. That was good, though, because this was all paper-based. He might get some information about who Vision _could_ be. That way, he could not only help Erica with the case like she'd requested, but also know who his enemy was. Potentially. He didn't know if this would work.

He messaged Erica, saying " _Need help? With He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Please!_ "

Within a minute, he received a message back. " _Ok, Harry Potter. Come to my office._ "

He grinned at the joke then headed to his car so he could see Erica.

Upon reaching her office, she sighed, saying, "Okay, last time we meet up here. Hopefully by today, the new place will be ready."

" _You got one already?_ " he exclaimed.

She nodded. "Anyway, let's cut to the chase. What do you need help with?"

"Well," he started, "it involves your case."

She nodded slowly twice. "I like this. Go on."

"It seems that going after Vision is a dead end. So is asking Ethan. So … since Vision confessed that he's involved with the Bruners, I think we can maybe look into Bruners Automobiles' history. Maybe Vision had issues with their company. It's possible," he said.

"It is," she agreed. "But you do realize that Vision could've also _not_ had issues with their company, legally anyways, right? We need to consider both sides."

"I know," he said. "But we have to try _something_." Besides, since this case involved a superhuman, and Benny was one of the only people involved with superhuman investigations and issues, then he _should_ know some information about this case.

"Okay," she said. "I'll try to find something. I don't know how long I'll take, though. Their previous lawyer sent me _a ton_ of files. Let me tell you, they did not have fun. Boy, did they get in trouble."

"Yeah, figured," he said. "They didn't have the best reputation."

"No," she said. "Glad they're improving, though. Second chances are good, at least in this case it is." She stood up. "Anyway, I'm going to see the place that I bought just to check that it's in good conditions. Wanna come, nerd?"

Well, why not? "Sure. As long as we go with your car. It looks cooler."

"Fine," she said. And with that, they were gone to see their new superhero meeting place. What a weird thing to think about.

* * *

Ethan couldn't tell if he was nervous or excited. Maybe he was both. Yeah, definitely both.

He looked down at the phone screen just to double check that he was in the right building. Anxiety wouldn't be merciful on him – especially now. Which floor was he supposed to go to again? Fourth? Yeah, it was the fourth. He pressed the elevator _up_ button, which lit up red. Which elevator was going to come to him? The right or left one? Was there going to be someone in it? He hoped not. He didn't want to face anyone until he reached the fourth floor. His eyes laid on the sign with the floor information. _4_ _th_ _floor, 4_ _th_ _floor, where is it? Ah, there. WC Comics Offices._ He smiled.

 _Ding_. Oh, right. The elevator. Ethan waited just in case someone was coming out it. There was no one, thankfully, so he was alone there, which kind of gave him some mental comfort. He could lean against the back wall of the elevator and _breathe_. He hoped he'd give a good impression today.

The door opened, and he stood up straight. He stepped out of the elevator, noticing that he was faced with a small area that had waiting chairs aligned against a wall by a reception desk, and some more casual seats a bit further away to the left. To its right was a hallway with doors on either sides and an area at the end with lots of windows and seating. On the walls were awards, comic book covers, and other things related to their work.

He approached the receptionist, who greeted him and told him to wait after he told her why he was here. She made a call, and soon enough a man Ethan recognized and admired came to see him. He was one of the comic artists for WC Comics.

He's always loved WC Comics since it was local to their town, and, well, their town was _very superhuman-focused._ It added to the realism of the comics. Even his son loved it when Ethan read him some of their comics. Finally, Ethan got recognized after he participated in their art competition. He didn't win at the end – a teenage girl won, but he was contacted by WC Comics with an invite to come and talk to them _for a potential job, maybe_. That would be great. For once in his life, he could have a more stable job – one that didn't have a fluctuating income as much as his freelancing job did.

He sat down that day with the artists and had a chat about their work environment, the things they worked on, and they asked him a few questions, too, which he was delighted to answer. They even asked if he could contribute to their comics, to which Ethan answered by hinting that he _might_ have a backstory and a potential plot for the superhero he'd drawn as a submission.

One thing he noticed about himself was that he was more confident than he once was. In job interviews, he used to be extremely nervous, and it showed. Now, he was more composed. He didn't know what changed, but he liked it. And he liked this place, really. The people were fun and nice. They showed that they cared about his work. And by the end of it, he was promised they'd get back to him soon. He didn't know how soon, but he was excited despite there being some more awkward moments he'd rather forget about.

He left the building, and was heading towards Sarah's apartment building. Was she going to be home at this hour? He looked at the time. Oh, yeah. It was the afternoon now. A lot of time passed because he was having fun. He needed to go tell her about his good day. She was the person who got most excited for him. If it wasn't for her, he'd probably go insane.

A notification came in from Benny. " _Emergency! Dad is coming in 2 hours. He's bringing beer and we're gonna watch the hockey game! Actually … no need to panic. We'll have fun._ "

Ethan smiled and texted back, " _I forgot there's a game today! I'll clean the living room for your dad. You bring chips on your way back."_

" _K!_ "

Things were going great so far. He didn't want to jinx it, though. He still felt excited. A potential new job was probably in his future. A nice leisurely afternoon was ahead with Benny's actually-very-awesome dad. There was nothing really thrilling in his regular life as Ethan, but these two things were enough to make him elated.

He found himself soon ringing the doorbell to Sarah's apartment. She greeted him with a welcoming smile, as always. "Hi, Baby Daddy."

He chuckled. "Hi, Sarah. How are you?"

"Good," she said, taking his hand. "Come in! The little naughty boy is getting excited you're here."

"Where is he?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"Here!" He heard Daniel's voice but didn't see him until his head peeked from behind the couch. "Mommy told me _don't jump a lot_ , so I'm not naughty if I sit down."

"Come here! You're not gonna hug your dad?" he asked, which immediately made Daniel run towards him and wrap his small arms around Ethan, who leaned down to his height.

"Dad, I got ice cream today!" Danny said.

"Really?" Ethan asked with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Was it chocolate?"

"Yeah!" he said. "It was soooo good."

"That's nice," he said. "Wanna talk about it on the couch?"

"Yeah." He ran towards it and added, "I wanna show you what I drawed." Ethan smiled. The way children spoke was kind of amusing. Even though the word _drawed_ was wrong in itself, the meaning he used it in was not the correct one either. He usually meant _I wanna show you what I colored in my coloring book_ , but Ethan never corrected him. That was what Sarah did. She worked hard on his speech, and Ethan just went along with the weird things his son said. Especially since when it came to coloring, he was trying to imitate his father and his passion for art. Those small gestures meant the world to Ethan.

After a while of showing off how he colored inside the lines, Daniel got tired of the coloring book, and moved along to playing with his toy car without a care for who or what was around him.

"You look really happy," Sarah pointed out. "You're always happy here, but you look extra happy today."

"Yeah," he said. "I feel good. I got to visit WC Comics," he said.

"You texted me that this morning," she said. He kind of forgot that he'd told her that information. He was too excited right now. "How did it go? Did they like you?"

"I think so. It seemed like they did," he said. "I really want a job with them. I don't wanna be unemployed anymore."

"They love you. I know they do. You'll get to work with them. I may not have your … ability, but I feel good about this," she said.

"I'd check, but it's kind of like looking at movie spoilers – things get boring when you actually experience them." That applied to his typical life. His villainous life didn't have that logic. It was a different reality with different rules. Actually, there were no rules there. He was a criminal, for fuck's sake. He didn't care for the law. He wanted things to go his way – which was why he typically used his powers. In real life, he just wanted to _live_. He wanted to enjoy himself.

"It doesn't matter. Even if you don't end up working there, I feel like you're more confident! Go apply in other places if things don't work out. You'd do so well! Apply to jobs related to your major, too! You were still programming and being active in your field, even if it's a little bit."

"You think so?" he asked. Somehow, she made him feel even better about himself. She was an angel – an angel who was happy to accept a villain into her life and treat him like a human, not a monster. And he was sure this wasn't fake. The way she smiled at him, the personal things she shared with him sometimes, the small things she did for him – it was all too real to fake. He would know since he was the biggest liar he knew. Actually – the second biggest liar he knew after Jesse Black.

"I do." She held his hand. "I believe in you, okay?"

"Thanks," he said. "Means a lot."

"Noooo!" Danny came, taking his mom's hand away from Ethan's. "Mommy has a girlfriend, not you! Don't touch hands! No!"

"Danny," Sarah said. "I can still hold his hand. We're best friends."

"You can?" he asked, his eyebrows raised up.

"Yeah. Just like how I can hold your hand," she explained.

"Oh, okay," he said, then went back to playing with his toys as if nothing happened.

Ethan stayed as much as he could, playing with his son and talking with Sarah until he felt like he needed to get back to his apartment so he could clean up like he promised. He was soon at the bus station closest to their place, and he had to walk until he'd reach his destination. He noticed he'd had a headache, but it might be from how hyper he was at the moment. So many things were happening.

He was so consumed these days with the fact that he was the most wanted villain in Whitechapel – that he was the hardest one to catch – that he forgot about Jesse Black, the man who was initially the most feared and wanted villain. He was the one who assisted in the creation of Vision. And he was the biggest liar Ethan knew – probably also the most horrible human being, too. Even though it felt like Jesse deserved Ethan killing him, Ethan still felt guilty. He wasn't a murderer and he wasn't planning on being one. Ethan was just a horrible man. _Jesse_ was the murderer out of the two.

" _I have a feeling that you can't stand me sometimes," Jesse had once said. They were at Jesse's house where they usually met before and after they would do their typical thing under their secret identities. In this instance, they had just returned after they had both decided to steal something as part of Jesse's plans. At that point, they still hadn't changed out of their supervillain clothes._

" _Wow, what gave that away?" Ethan asked sarcastically. "Listen, I told you multiple times. I'll come with you in most cases._ However, _and that a big 'however', there are things I don't wanna be associated with. Murder is one of them."_

" _You're such a prude," Jesse said, going over to his wine collection. "You're twenty-one, right, kid?"_

 _He was twenty-three, but Jesse never memorized Ethan's age. Why would it matter now? "Since when do you care about what's legal?"_

" _I may kill people, but I absolutely will not take underaged guys into my house and get them drunk. I have_ some _standards," he said._

" _Not enough, though," he said, sitting down comfortably in Jesse's fancy living room and putting his feet on the table out of spite. Jesse never said anything, though. He didn't seem to care about that._

 _Jesse chuckled. "I'm not wrong, am I? Your boyfriend's a loser. Seriously? Why would you date a fucking superhero? No, why would you date your arch nemesis? Wizard? Out of all people? Please."_

" _It's weird, isn't it?" he asked. "See, he just happened to be Wizard, okay? And he's not a loser. He's pretty decent."_

" _Yeah, he's morally good. Therefore, he's probably decent. Guess what you're not? A decent guy. You're evil and you can't deny that," Jesse said, sitting down with two glasses of wine. Ethan didn't drink much anymore ever since he started dating Benny, but he'd politely drink a bit at Jesse's._

" _If all the good people in the world are off-limits, who's left?" he asked._

" _How about me?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow as he took a sip of the wine._

" _No, thanks. You're a bit too old for my taste," he said. Jesse wasn't_ that _old. He was around seven years older, but Ethan preferred people more his age – like Benny, who was twenty-three as well._

" _Okay, I'm not_ that _old."_

" _God, what has this conversation turned into?" He stood up. "I should go. My boyfriend's probably worried about me." He needed to change from his Vision suit. He took off the glove on his left hand so he could use his phone. There were indeed a few texts from Benny. It was adorable how he was always asking about Ethan, but he never asked invasive questions. And he was funny, too. Stupid, but funny._

" _I should change since you're leaving," Jesse said, drinking the rest of the wine quickly. "You should, too. Don't think you want your boyfriend to find out about who you are." He put a hand on Ethan's shoulder._

 _Ethan felt himself get pulled into a vision. He hated those visions, but they typically happened._

 _A date on a phone. It was two weeks from now. Jesse with a spiteful look. A hand on a neck. A knife. Finally, he saw the whole scene. Jesse trying to choke Ethan to death._

 _He was back to reality. Jesse would try to kill him? No, he wouldn't let that happen. He couldn't die. He had a toddler, a loving boyfriend, a supportive family, and great friends. He couldn't die. Not now._

That was the moment he had stopped trusting Jesse. He was a killer, a liar, a backstabber. How ironic. The backstabber got stabbed. Karma was a bitch. It would definitely come to bite Ethan's ass, too. Not because of what he did to Jesse – that was purely self-defense. No, he meant all the other things he's done as Vision. And he was paying for it already. The first thing he was paying for was Benny's trust. And now, he had probably the smartest young lawyer in town up his ass. Who cared? His life was chaos now. He might as well have fun.

And right now, he was going to have a different kind of fun than he was used to. He unlocked the door to the apartment and entered to the usual slightly-messy-yet-decently-clean living room. It would still be a shame if he didn't clean up. He hung up some jackets that they've both thrown around, an empty candy bar that Benny probably ate in a hurry, some earphones that Ethan forgot to pick up, among other items. They were all minor things, but they made a difference.

He'd sat down at the end of his cleaning process and turned to the sports channel they usually watched the game on. After a bit, Benny had reached the apartment with two bags filled with chips. "I got carried away."

Ethan chuckled. "I can tell," he said.

"Hey, don't give me that look! You would've done the same in my position! We're very similar!" Benny defended, putting the bags on the kitchen counter.

Ethan raised his hands up, his eyebrows raised. "I never said I wouldn't."

"Okay, fine, Sassy Pants. Come help me with the chips." So, Ethan got up and took the bags of chips out just to see the options. "Whoops. This is for me," she Benny putting away one of them. "It's too spicy for you. You're too white for this."

"Excuse me? You're white, too," he replied. Finally, Ethan settled on some potato chips and put them on the table in the living room.

A doorbell. Mr. Weir was here, probably, unless it was a delivery man or something. Benny went to open the door and greeted his dad, who hugged his son briefly before coming to greet Ethan. And Ethan liked Mr. Weir. He always treated Ethan like a son. Even today, he felt like he was spending time with his own dad rather than his boyfriend's dad. That's how close they were.

Benny's dad went in for a handshake. "Hi, Ethan. How you doing?" he asked, putting the six pack on the table.

"I'm good. How are you?" he asked.

"Great, actually. I get to spend time with you guys," he said, making himself home already and sitting down. "How are your, uh … art commissions going?" he asked. The question seemed more like he was making sure that he was using the right term. Still, it meant a lot to Ethan that Benny's dad actually cared about Ethan's life enough to ask about his art.

Ethan sat down, almost chuckling. "It's okay. It's not as great as it once was, not a lot of people want my art style, but I'm happy either way."

"Things will get better, hopefully. You know what? I can always just buy your art and advertise it to the people I know," he suggested.

"Dad," Benny intervened as he stepped into the living room with some spicy sauces. _Benny staples_ , Ethan called them. "Stop trying to be such a kiss-ass." He sat down in between his dad and Ethan. His dad turned to him. Ethan didn't know what was happening until Benny spoke again. "Oh, come on, Dad. I'm twenty-five! I don't need to be PG!"

And so, the day went on with Benny, his dad, and Ethan, talking about pointless things as they watched the game. It was a calm activity – other than Benny and his dad getting way too angry at the game. Over all, it was a nice day for Ethan so far.

* * *

Benny's gotten distracted today – and that's what he's wanted. A normal afternoon. A day where he could be happy, even for a bit. He'd argue with Ethan and his dad, but at the end of the day, that was the normal routine. It was all in fun and games, anyway. He always argued _jokingly_ , and they get that.

A vibration in his pocket startled him. He'd forgotten that he'd put his phone on vibration mode. He took it out only to see that Erica Jones was calling. Why was she calling now? Did she find something important? Whatever the case, Benny had to pick it up. He excused himself and left to the bedroom where he closed the door to have a private conversation.

"Hello? Erica?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me, idiot. Listen, this is really important. For you. Come and see me at my house," she said.

" _Really_ important?" he asked. He knew it was probably urgent, but he didn't want that to be true considering the task he'd giver Erica. Also, he didn't want his evening disrupted.

"Yeah, like, 'I can't hold it in, you have to come or I'll lose it' kind of important," she said.

"Okay, since you put it that way, I'm coming," he said.

They hung up, and Benny was left wondering exactly what she's found on the Bruners. Again, Benny had to excuse himself, but this time to leave the house. "I'll be back. Dad, don't bother Ethan too much."

"Nope, won't listen to you," his dad said with a way too innocent smile. He'd never bother Ethan purposefully.

He rushed out of the apartment and drove to Erica's. It was a fifteen-minute drive, but those fifteen minutes passed by so slowly. Once he was at the house, he rang the doorbell. There was another excruciating wait until the door was open, even though it was probably a five-second wait.

"Come in," she told him.

He went to sit in the same couches he'd sit at when he'd previously come here. This time, however, he was nervous. How horrible were the news? How shocking were they? Or maybe … how cheerful were they? That was a possibility … right? No, she seemed way too concerned.

"What is it? What happened?" he asked.

She sat down beside him. Her pony tail was a mess, and she had on unicorn pajamas, yet, somehow, she still looked elegant and very Erica. "It's not what you wanna hear. I think this was the last thing you wanted to hear."

"Did you find an association with Ethan or something?" he asked, unsure. He could be way off.

She nodded. "I did." She bit on her lower lip, silent for maybe two seconds. Those two seconds were the worst for Benny so far. This made Ethan seem so much worse now. There were more links to Ethan and Vision than Benny had wanted. "He sued the company like … five year ago because of a car he purchased from them. Guess what, Weir? He won. They lost a lot, not from the amount they had to pay him, but from how poorly the company did after the lawsuit plus all the legal trouble they had with other customers."

"Oh," Benny said, not knowing where to proceed from there. He felt slightly less hopeful now. Weirdly enough, he was also sort of numb to the news at this point. He's been so suspicious these past few weeks that this was … normal to him to hear.

"That's not why I urgently wanted you here. That may be alarming, true, but that's only telling us that _maybe_ he's Vision. It doesn't really prove anything yet. What I did find that you probably care about is _what_ happened to Ethan," she said.

"What … happened to him?" he asked. He didn't expect Erica to even care about Ethan's past, but it made sense. If she was sympathetic, great. If not, she still needed to understand Ethan to figure out if he's potentially Vision.

"I don't know the exact specifics. I remember seeing something about faulty breaks in the car Ethan bought. And … Ethan got hurt really bad. I'm talking unconsciousness for a week."

" _A week?_ " he asked. Why didn't he know about this? Why was he hearing it now? Why couldn't Ethan just tell him? He was so _mad_. And sad, too. Did Ethan not care enough to tell him anything? "I didn't know."

"I figured you didn't," she said. "Or else you would've known he's had connections with the Bruners." She inhaled. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. What I want you to do, though, is just to forget about the whole Vision thing for today. Obviously, you have a relationship that you wanna keep, and trust me, even though I don't particularly like your boyfriend, I still think he's a good fit for you. I'm rooting for you guys. I know it doesn't come across that way."

He nodded. "Thanks for telling me." She was right. He had a relationship that needed repairing. After they were alone together, Benny needed to talk about this. And he needed to talk about it today.

* * *

Benny dreaded going back into the apartment. He didn't feel like reaching for the key, but he had to. He had to come in. He fumbled for it in his pocket, and once it was in his hand, he'd dropped it on the floor. He wasn't okay and he knew it.

 _Unconsciousness for a week._ Ethan could've told him that he had an accident. He didn't have to say anything about it being a Bruners Automobiles car that caused the problems. That didn't matter. Benny cared for Ethan. He cared for his life. Five years ago, Ethan was like twenty. Benny hadn't known him at that time. Still, wasn't this important for Benny to know since they'd spent two meaningful years dating?

He put the key in the lock. Before he turned it, he listened for any noise coming from inside the apartment. The door muffled sounds, but sometimes, noises could be heard. The sound of the TV, probably the loudest sound in their apartment other than their screaming when they played video games, wasn't there. Benny looked at the time. Oh, the game was over. His dad was probably gone. His assumption was confirmed when he had opened the door to see Ethan putting away the remaining snacks.

Ethan turned around to look at Benny. "Hey," he said. "You're back. You missed the game, though. Good thing you did 'cause we lost."

Benny didn't respond to that. Instead, he closed the door behind him. Even Ethan was silent for a bit. Benny didn't expect him to be silent. He expected him to say something else to change the subject. When he spoke again, it was straight to the point. It broke Benny's heart and made him angry at the same time.

"These days, you don't seem like you're paying any attention to me. Did you stop caring about our relationship?" Ethan asked. Benny didn't feel like looking at Ethan or talking, but his body only knew to make his eyes drift to Ethan. His arms were crossed, his eyebrows furrowed. He was pissed. So was Benny, though Benny didn't feel pure angriness. His emotions were all over the place.

"Of course I care," he said in a voice louder than he'd intended – in a voice way louder than Ethan's was that it made the brown-eyed man uncross his arms. Ethan blinked. He was startled. "You're one to talk. You don't trust me, do you?" The words came out of his mouth before he'd realized it. The guilt didn't set in yet. He was still too mad to feel bad. He knew Ethan would take this to heart, but Benny, for once, didn't care for Ethan's anxiety. He wanted answers.

"What are you talking about?" Ethan asked. "Of course I trust you."

"No," Benny said. "You really don't. You're hiding things from me." He stepped closer, his heart aching, boiling with fire, beating so fast. "What are you hiding?"

"Benny," Ethan said in a calm, soft voice. Any other day, he would've melted to that voice. Today was different. "Please don't do this to yourself."

"Do what? Get you to tell me that you got into a fucking car accident?" he asked. Ethan froze in his place. "Why didn't you tell me that? Why didn't you tell me that you were unconscious from it? I need to know this! I'm your boyfriend!" His voice cracked at the last sentence.

"I-" Ethan breathed in, "I'm sorry. I didn't tell you because I didn't even want to remember what happened. It was traumatic to me."

 _Really? Is that why you kidnapped Malcolm Bruner and broke him?_ He was surprised at himself. Nothing was confirmed to him about Vision's identity, yet he was subconsciously accusing Ethan of Vision's crimes. Yet again, he didn't let himself feel bad. He let himself step forward even more until he was a few inches away from Ethan.

"What else are you hiding from me?" Benny asked. There was fear in Ethan's eyes. Why was he scared? Benny was just trying to seek out the truth. "Answer me." Nothing from Ethan. The fact that he was silent – the fact that he didn't even bother to say ' _nothing_ ' made Benny hurt more. He was hiding things from Benny, but he didn't want to say them, did he? "What are you hiding?" His hands formed fists. He wasn't about to do anything to Ethan directly, but it appeared that his powers were getting wild. He couldn't say that they were out of control. They weren't. He had control over them, and he didn't stop them from breaking the glass surface of a table nearby.

Ethan had closed his eyes, his body shaking at first from the shock. Then, he'd hissed, his teeth gritted. He looked down. At what? Benny followed his gaze. A big piece of glass was in Ethan's forearm. There was blood. Blood in his arm, on the glass, spreading on his sleeve, dropping on the carpeted floor. "Oh, God," Benny whispered. The weight of what he'd done had started to settle in. "E, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He reached a hand towards Ethan, but Ethan had stepped back. He was scared and rightfully so. And he was injured all because of Benny. He felt guilty. All this yelling, all this anger – it was leading to something way worse than Benny wanted.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Ethan had walked away to the kitchen where the medical kit was. Benny had only followed after him, having telekinetically moved the glass to a corner of the room for now for safe walking. He wanted to help with the wound for now. Thank goodness it wasn't that deep of a cut. It was just … big. _I hurt him. I hurt Ethan._

Ethan's head was turned away. It probably hurt more to see Ethan act this way. But Benny deserved it. He realized he was looking at Ethan like he was Vision, and not Ethan Morgan. Why would he do that? He thought he'd come back and talk to Ethan calmly and maturely. Yet, here he was, treating a wound that he'd inflicted.

"E," he said. "Please look at m-"

"Shut up," Ethan said sharply. It felt like a stab through the chest. It was then that it started to creep up on him how toxic things were between them. Ethan, hiding secrets. Benny, letting his emotions get the best of him.

 _I love you_ , he thought. _I know I love you, but why is the spark gone? Why does it feel like we're already separated? Do you even love me anymore?_

"I'm done," he muttered. He knew Ethan should probably go to the hospital, but he was too afraid to speak and say the wrong thing.

Ethan got up. He didn't head to their room, he didn't sit down on the couch, he didn't stay in the kitchen. He took his jacket, his phone, his keys, and his wallet, then left out the door without another word. Strangely enough to Benny, Ethan was holding his head with his left arm – his good arm. He didn't pay much attention to that, though.

He was worried about another thing. He was worried about their relationship being broken beyond repair.

* * *

A knot had formed in Ethan's throat the moment Benny had said that Ethan didn't trust him, and the knot wasn't gone yet. Ethan was sad and scared. _I don't know what to do_ , he thought as he closed the door behind him. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from Benny.

He didn't realize it before, but Benny was scary. The way he looked at Ethan, eyes showing the fire burning within – it frightened Ethan. He had broken the glass so suddenly with his powers. He thought Benny could only move items, not break them. He was strong, no doubt. And emotional.

Rory or Sarah. He needed one of them. Anyone of them. He felt lonely. They could help calm him down a bit. They were both good at doing that. Rory, during college, had figured Ethan out pretty quickly and knew how to deal with him. Sarah was empathetic, and she cared about Ethan's mental state just as much as Rory did – probably.

When he reached the quiet street, he called Rory first. "Ethan? Hello?"

"Rory," he said in relief. "I need-" His voice wasn't only cracking, but it was also very low in tone. He was scared that if he raised it, it would crack even more. But he couldn't even talk properly. He felt like he wasn't even breathing. He had to cut his sentence short.

He was reminded of his college days. He was twenty at this specific moment. It was his junior year. He remembered that Rory had left this college the previous year in pursuit of his dream to become a cop. But it had left Ethan without a roommate and without any emotional support.

 _He was sitting in his dark room, his back to the bed's, his knees touching his chest. He'd never felt so horrible about himself before. He'd never felt so scared before. Mostly, he was confused. Emotionally, he's had enough. He didn't want to feel so confused anymore._

 _Once he'd felt that he could talk properly, he called Rory. "Rory?" he asked upon hearing his voice. "I need you."_

" _Why? What happened?" Rory asked from the other end of the line._

" _My vision," he said. "It's coming true."_

" _Ethan," Rory said. "Keep talking to me on the phone. I'm coming to the dorms."_

" _Sarah warned me. I shouldn't have dated him," he said, mostly to himself. He felt so empty on the inside as he spoke._

" _He won't get away with it this time. If he did it again, he won't."_

 _He was going to tell Rory everything when he came to see him, but he wanted to speak generally now. "I did something bad," he said. "I went to him again. He didn't do it again. But I entered his mind. With my powers. I read his thoughts. And I told him about them. He was scared of me." He swallowed. "At that moment, I wanted him to be scared. It felt good."_

" _You're just angry. I don't blame you. You'll feel better later. It'll take time but you'll feel better," Rory assured._

 _It was appreciated, how nice he was, but Ethan knew better. "No, my vision's coming true. I know it." He closed his eyes. "I don't wanna turn evil. I wanna be a good person."_

" _You won't turn evil," Rory said. "You're a good person."_

He wasn't a good person. He _was_ evil. He wanted others to suffer. He enjoyed seeing others suffering. Well, he didn't like seeing everyone suffer, just the people he hated or the people who came in his way.

But now, he couldn't think about that. All that as in his mind was Benny. _Benny hates me_.

"Yeah, just one second," Rory replied, though he didn't seem to be talking to Ethan. There was chatter around him. Was he on duty? "Sorry about that. Um, everything okay?"

"You're working right now?" he asked. He did achieve his dreams. Rory did become a cop. And now, Ethan felt like he couldn't always have Rory as support for him. They fought different fights. Ethan was creating chaos as a villain, Rory was lawful as a cop. They were complete opposites. Now, even though he wanted to cast their differences aside as to ask for help, he realized that Rory might be too busy. They weren't in college anymore. Rory had a life now. He had different friends. He walked a different path.

"It's fine. I'll be off duty in an hour. Why?" he asked.

"Never mind," Ethan said. "I'll tell you later."

"O…kay?" Rory said.

They'd said their goodbyes, and Ethan realized he probably should've called Sarah first. So, he called her then. As he heard the ringing in the phone, he felt his head hurt him for the second time after his fight. A vision was trying to come. A warning. He pushed it away. Not now. He didn't want to worry even more. "Ethan! Hi!" she said. In the distance Ethan could hear Danny saying ' _Daddy? I wanna talk to him! Gimme!'_

Despite feeling like his life was crumbling around him, he was experiencing a little bit of joy at hearing both their voices.

"Hey, Sarah. I'm sorry. I know I bothered you today already, but I really need someone right now," he said.

"You didn't bother me, Ethan. You can come if you want. I'm here for you. Always," she said. "Plus, we're having burgers tonight! Yay!" He heard Danny yell _yay burgers_ in excitement, to which Sarah giggled.

"Okay," he said. "I'll be there. But … thanks. A lot. For everything."

"No problem," she said. "Now come before Danny eats everything! Oh, no!" She seemed to be saying most of this as teasing for Danny, but also to cheer Ethan up a little.

He was over at Sarah's in a few minutes. He'd entered, trying to smile, but it seemed that Sarah caught on pretty quickly how much in a bad place he was.

She took Ethan with her to her room. She sat him on her bed, then she held his hand. "You don't seem okay."

He shook his head. "I'm not." Sarah squeezed his hand. He didn't realize how much his hand was shaking. "Benny found out about the accident. He's onto me. But I don't care about that. I-" He sucked in a breath. "I got into a really horrible fight with him. He got really angry. I think he hates me. I mean, I don't blame him. If I were him, I'd be mad. But the way he looked at me – it was terrible. If looks could kill, I'd be dead."

"It's okay. Things will be okay," she said, extending a hand to put on Ethan's right arm, but he stopped her. "Why?" she asked.

"Glass went into my arm," he said.

"What?" she asked, whispering. She whispered only when she was trying not to be loud in front of Danny. "When did that happen? Just now?"

He nodded. "It's fi-" He felt the pain shoot into his head again. He closed his eyes and held his head. This time, the vision was resisting him. It forced his eyes open. They clouded over, and he saw a vision. A classic vision. He hadn't had one in a while, so it felt strange. They usually came in dreams when they were warnings, but it seemed like this was too urgent to wait.

 _Wizard was there. Vision was there. They were both in a room, alone. They were close to each other. Vision was standing against the wall, panting. Wizard was in front of Vision, holding him by his shirt. But both of them were unmasked. Ethan was looking at Benny with a gaze of steel. Benny looked shocked and betrayed. In the back of his mind, he was thinking the same word over and over again. Tomorrow._

He gasped, catching his breath. No, no, no! It couldn't happen. Not tomorrow. Not ever. He felt panic. Not only was his relationship basically ruined with Benny, but Ethan's secret would be revealed to him tomorrow.

"Ethan? You okay?" Sarah asked, putting her hands on his shoulder. "What did you see?"

His eyes found hers. She was concerned as ever for him. He was also concerned. "Benny – he's gonna find out tomorrow. About my identity."

His worst fear was coming true. He was losing a person he loved and he couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

It took a long time for Benny to sleep.

An hour after Ethan left, Benny started thinking to himself, he started calling Ethan, leaving text messages. He wanted to fix things. He wanted to make Ethan happy again. He wanted his boyfriend back. Erica had also texted him that night to ask if anything happened, but Benny never answered. He couldn't even come to terms with what had happened.

He pulled the drawer by his side of the bed. His eyes would always drift to the black box when he opened this drawer. He picked it up and opened it. The engagement rings he had bought were untouched. He remembered proposing to Ethan but not getting a yes back. It had hurt back then. Did Ethan just want to spare his feelings? Did he want to spare Benny the pain? Strangely enough, he kind of wished they got engaged, even if he'd get hurt eventually. He wanted to feel the joy of being married to him. He put the box back inside.

Ethan never came that night. And Benny was left to stare at his boyfriend's things. His drawing tablet, a mini-robot he did back in college for a competition, his dirty clothes thrown on the ground, his books and comics on the shelf, a frame of a selfie that Benny had taken of them both goofing around, and another frame of a candid picture that Benny took of Ethan.

 _You don't know how much you matter to me._ He fucked up today, no doubt about it. But Ethan still mattered to him, no matter how much he felt the relationship descend into horribleness and mistrust.

The space on the bed beside him felt so empty. Where Ethan usually slept was always warm and lively. Now it was cold and empty. _Come back._ He wanted to be back to the moment when they were lying there, staring in each other's eyes two years ago. Benny's hand was on Ethan's face. They were both unclothed, breathing hard. It was probably the steamiest night for them and also the geekiest. They had watched movies, played games together, eaten Chinese takeout, ranted about comic books, then slept with each other. He'd told Ethan he loved him. He was scared that Ethan wouldn't reciprocate his feelings, but he'd smiled and said it back.

He kept the door ajar in case Ethan wanted to come back and sleep in the room. But he never did. Eventually, Benny slept after two hours of lying down when his brain got tired. And when he woke up and saw that Ethan hadn't returned, he realized just how screwed this relationship was.

* * *

 **Oh, boy, I did not expect to escalate things this quickly, but I got a smiiiidge excited. Just a smidge.**

 **I honestly wanted Ethan to get the vision of the Benny vs Ethan thing in the next chapter, but yet again, I wanted this chapter to be romantic. And look how things went. Also, I realized how slow I am at updating. You guys deserve to get something exciting happen. Plus … who said Benny finding out about Ethan was the endgame? This is just the first cup of tea being spilled. There's a whole teapot ready, so you guys better strap yourselves in.**

 **Until next time!**


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